Eterna (Formerly known as WHAHC)
by IsadoraMaryAlice
Summary: Riku had once detested normalcy. Now he knew better, and craved it more than anything else. But with the arrival of a letter from king Mickey and a mysterious girl, what he desperately sought after was slipping out of his grasp. Who was this girl? How did she tie up with the King's letter? And by all that was holy, how did HE tie up with her and the discovery of a new world?
1. Prologue: Message In A Bottle

**Prologue: Message In A Bottle**

_**Sora:**_

_**My deepest apologies for sending you this letter, but in light of recent events we need your talents once again. **_

_**We have found a most concerning document depicting the story of an unknown planet residing within the border of the worlds. Further investigations showed that it truly does exist, so we did the only thing we could: get on a gummi ship and fly right to it. It is said to be locked by a special mechanism that can only be unlocked by a certain key. We think- Yen Sid and I- that this key could be referring to the keyblade. But even after I tried opening it with mine it was of no use. We believe that it might be unlocked by using more than one keyblade, like we did last time when we opened the Door to Kingdom Hearts. We've nothing to lose in trying it, right? I'll be there whenever I can to receive your response.**_

_**In the meantime, stay still, don't fret and enjoy what time you have with your family and loved ones. **_

_**Adjoined please find the startling document written by an unknown Keyblade Master that describes what we're going to supposedly face. The events weren't seen by this person, though, but by a man in a black coat. You know what that means.**_

_**In the name of our camaraderie,**_

_**King Mickey**_


	2. Chapter 1: Darkness Still Lingers

**Warnings:** Overuse of a certain _f_ word, and a lot of cursing, but that's about it. :)

**Chapter 1: Darkness Still Lingers**

Riku couldn't sleep. He had so many worries inside of his mind that he couldn't find the joys of unconsciousness anymore. Some of those he didn't even want to think about, because they weren't even worth it. His main focus right now was college, which he had skipped a year in order to go together with his friends. His parents wanted him to attend a special military school- designed for out of line young teenagers, since they thought his disappearance two years ago was a rebelling act. They _knew _he wasn't like that. Otherwise he would've disappeared or escaped at the first signs of control his parents showed. He absolutely loathed control.

Many arguments had occurred in his household because of the college of his preference, which was just in town, a solid hour away from there. They complained about transportation, gas, food, materials and every other damn thing that he needed for his future. What he kept reminding them about, though, was that he had all those things planned already. He had a job since his return, and Sora's mom was capable of taking him there, since her son was attending that very same college. And another thing he liked shouting at their faces was that military school was _just_ as pricey as all those things.

Tonight's argument was different, though. They had agreed with Riku's decision, but on one condition. He had to be in the military program that Paopu University offered. He didn't know what had changed their minds, but he sure as hell knew that it had to be something with a lot of persuasion. Even still, he stormed out of the house in a daze, saying that he had to think about it.

Currently standing at the edge of the beach he grudgingly accepted fates' decision for him. Perhaps it was some kind of cosmic punishment for his past. Even though he had promised his best friend that he would stop thinking about what he had done, he couldn't seem to do it. He had lost count of how many times his promise had been broken, his mind always treading on that territory, thinking of stuff that was better left alone. It made him feel like shit, really. One of the things he was proud of accomplishing, though, was the way he fooled his friends. Neither Sora nor Kairi had noticed something off about him. Hell, he probably should consider a Minor for Theater since his skills were very good.

He could still feel Darkness's touch on him. It was true that he still walked Twilight's path, but he sometimes felt the stirrings of his weaknesses once more. They were dark, they were cruel, but most of all they were _his_, and he didn't wish to acknowledge them.

On this cloudy night his powers were hard to hold on to, so he started releasing the pent-up energy he had stored inside. Creating small spheres of darkness and letting them out towards the ocean helped him just a bit, but nothing was ever going to go away from his tainted soul. When he felt relatively calm he stopped, although he still felt rather bad. He didn't think he would go through a series of unfortunate events were he would probably explode, though, so he left it at that and started to leave.

A house near the edge of the beach caught his attention. It was a one story building, small enough to fit two to three people in it. It looked rather homey, what with its small garden and white fence covering the outer edges of the place, not to mention that the house was painted a lovely beige color, to people who cared for such lovely things, anyway. The only important aspect of that house, at least for him, was the fact that it belonged to someone dear to him, someone he hadn't seen in over a year. The lights in it were on and he found it surprising that she was awake at this ungodly hour- according to his watch it was midnight. So he decided to head over there and check if things were alright.

The turning off of the lights stopped him mid-way. So did the sight of a girl standing at the porch.

Riku didn't know who she was and why she was there instead of his friend. He couldn't discern her features from where he was, so he didn't bother with them. He knew that he was being looked at too, so he didn't move from his spot. It felt rather weird to be standing in the middle of the beach scrutinizing and being scrutinized back, but he felt the need to do so. It was an urge, actually. _One that I'm overindulging at the moment_, Riku thought. _Is it safe to get closer, I wonder?_ One step after the other he started to reach towards her, but she immediately went inside the house. _Strange. Well, not really since technically I am a stranger to her…_ Seeing as there was nothing else to do, and the person he wanted to talk to was probably asleep, he walked back to his house. He would come back when he had the chance.

He was going to accept his parents' condition. He might not like it, but hey, at least he was going to be with his friends over at Paopu.

Everything was bound to be alright. It just had to.

oooOooo

He was drunk. _Really_ drunk.

It never showed, though. The only one who could tell was Sora but since he too was also intoxicated… Well, no one else knew, period. They were walking down the street after a party Tidus had thrown, leaning on each other as they sang tunelessly a pirate song that Sora had learned from Captain Jack Sparrow. Oh Riku would never find out if that was true and he didn't even care. He was having too much fun trying to sing the lyrics with his best friend.

Fun. That word was constantly missing from his vocabulary nowadays.

_No, I'm drunk and happy, and I will not think of anything right now,_ Riku thought, his mood realigning itself once more into the happy, oblivious state it was.

It had been a wild party, to say the least, and Riku and Sora had enjoyed it very, very much. Kairi had been invited, of course, seeing as it was an after graduation spectacular, but she had said no, which had Sora pouting for almost half of the entire night. Riku had noticed and proceeded to do what a best friend would do when a crush was absent from a very nice party: get the other drunk.

What he hadn't counted on was that Sora would be an extreme lightweight. He'd said once that he had already had alcohol but apparently it wasn't the strong type, like rum for example. A drunken confession from Sora himself confirmed it.

They kept walking down the street and in a matter of minutes (or was it hours?) they reached Sora's home. To their utter surprise, someone was still waiting for them.

"Fu-uck," whispered a very tipsy Sora. "Wutif it's- whut if tis' mom?"

"Pft, well we could say that our punch had alcohol and we didn't notice."

"She won't buy it. Side's, you soun' all normal and stuff."

"Yeah, but that's because I'm me, and you're you," chuckled Riku. "Let's just go inside and see what awaits us, oh mighty pirate."

"Argh me maiiiteee," was all Sora could say before he bent over and threw up. Sighing, Riku tried his best not to feel disgusted and helped his friend. Once Sora made sure he had nothing else to spew forth they clambered up the stairs, only to find an angry red-headed girl.

"Of all the things I assumed you were doing in that party, getting pissed drunk was the least of them all. Really, _drinking_? I'm gonna get Tidus for this."

"Kai, come on, we were just having fun. Sure, we might've had just a tad few more than normal, but hey, we fucking deserve it!"

Kairi sighed and ran an exasperated hand through her hair. She then said, "Riku, I don't really care if you deserve it or not. In fact, I really am not up to hear your excuses. Just … just help Sora up to his house and get him settled down before his mother wakes up."

Riku did just that, preparing himself for the tirade that would surely come from her. Kairi had never enjoyed drinking, much less when her friends did it. She tolerated it from him because he could very well hold his liquor up. But when it came to Sora she got feisty all over. He'd insisted once that her crush for Sora was making her very overprotective of him. Just because he drank didn't mean he was about to go fall on a rock and die all of a sudden. He'd earned himself a slap and a few curse words from the normally tranquil red-hair.

After putting Sora on his bed, removing his shoes and trying as hard as he could to keep himself awake, he turned around to face Kairi. She looked worried and tired, sure, but she also looked scared. This fact made Riku alert instantly because Kairi almost never got scared.

"Kai, what is it?"

"Let's head downstairs first. I don't want to wake him up."

Nodding his head in assent he followed her out the door, to the first floor and into the kitchen. Getting a glass of water for himself, he plopped down in a chair and waited for her to start. He realized that when she did, he wanted her to shut up after all.

"Are you able to grasp things of utter importance right now? Or should I wait until tomorrow?"

"You already started and have me off edge, so get on with it."

Biting her lip, she took out of her pocket what looked like a note. Well, make that a letter. She unfolded it and handed it to Riku, who immediately took it with a semblance of apprehension. Reading its contents the feeling got worse, and as he read the last sentence he growled. The King might be his friend, a trusted adult, but he had no right to take their lives away like that. College had yet to even start! Sure, he had once wanted to avoid being normal like that. But after their past events, normalcy was what he desperately wanted. And the king wanted them to give it all away on a whim, on a suspicion? Oh _fuck_ no!

"Riku? Riku. Riku!"

Snapping out of his thoughts he realized Kairi was shouting his name, and with reason. In his drunken state he had little to no control over his magic, but because he had no worries when he got drunk he was relatively safe, until now. Dark foils of magic swirled around him in lazy patterns, apparently after having destroyed a flower vase in a corner and the unoccupied chair. How he was going to explain that was a mystery. He stared at Kairi to see if she was injured, but she looked fine. Heaving a sigh of relief he immediately apologized. "Sorry."

"It's okay, I guess."

Things remained silent for a while. Then questions started popping from Riku's mouth. "Where did you find this? Are you sure it's from the King?"

"Duh! Are you not looking at the seal right on the bottom?" That earned her a glare from him, which made her look sheepish. "Sorry, I'm just on edge. Anyway, I found it inside a crystal bottle over on Paopu Island, where _we_ were supposed to spend a quiet afternoon together before that stupid party." It was Riku's turn to look contrite. "Tidus is gonna get it, big time."

"So this is why you were uncharacteristically angry when we arrived?"

"Yes and no, among other things. Riku listen. There have been things going on, things only I know about."

"Is this because of your status as a Princess of Light?"

"Maybe or maybe not." She sat on the kitchen counter to avoid the mess on the floor and kept on with her story. "Maybe I just know because I'm the only one paying attention to stuff like this, who knows?" That could be true, Riku thought. He and Sora had apparently wanted to escape to a less demanding reality, and had silently agreed to ignore all of it. "I'll tell you about it once Sora wakes up. But for now know this: nothing will ever be the same anymore. "

"Gee Kairi, thanks for making so much sense," he stood and started pacing the almost cramped room. Thanks to his body growth, he was now up to almost six feet.

"I know it doesn't make a lick of sense, but that's because you don't know-" she cut herself short.

"I don't know what?" When no answer came he repeated his question, albeit more forcefully. "I don't know _what_?"

"There's someone in this town that has a powerful heart filled with white magic, the type the heartless go after," she blurted.

Riku just stood there, confused. "Come again?"

"Ugh, see?! This is why I wanted to explain later!" She scooted closer to the edge of the counter just to point a finger in his direction. "You better listen, and you better understand! Hopefully you're not that drunk anymore."

He snorted. "Trust me, after that letter I sobered up, quickly."

After sighing a bit, she continued. "There's this person in town, a girl who carries her magic cloaked tightly around her. It's like she's trying very hard to keep it a secret. I mean, no one in this island will know about it except for us, so why hide? Maybe it is as you said, and because I'm a Princess of Light I sensed her right away. I really don't know why you and Sora can't though, so don't ask.

"I followed her one day, up to one of the houses at the edge of the beach. I overheard her speaking to someone on a cellphone and all I can remember were worried tones, because as soon as she turned around I saw the most awful thing ever. She has a scar, a deep one trailing from eye to cheek in a straight pattern. It was… it was very disturbing.

"The weird part, though, was when she saw me. It's like she knew I was different from the rest, yet she didn't know why. It _freaked _me out. Why would such a powerful person not know what I was, what I wield? It struck me as odd, so I kept following her during a couple of days. I only found out that she works over at a shop of some sort, don't know which one, and her mom is very, very sick. Other than that, nothing special was done or said. So, I can only assume one thing: she has the magic, but she doesn't know about it."

Riku didn't know what to say. He knew that these things were weird- and why in the world couldn't he sense this powerful white magic?- but he still remained speechless. That is, until he remembered the king's letter. "And what has this got to do with what King Mickey wrote?"

"I don't know! I just thought it was just as unnerving as that letter and decided to blurt it out!"

"Easy Kai, you're stressing over there."

Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, she apologized. "It's just… I don't really want to do this again. I hated being away last time, but mostly, I just hated the thought of losing you both. I can't deal with that, not really."

Her forlorn look made him want to drink himself to a stupor all over again. He knew how she felt because he had been apart from them as well, even though he'd had an almost constant watch over Sora. It wasn't fair for them, but when had life ever been fair? Well, they just had to wait for Sora. The letter was addressed to him after all, and it was his call to make. And because he would probably say yes, they had no other choice but to go with him. They were not staying behind, or apart. Not this time.

Standing up, he reached for Kairi and, not knowing what else to do, hugged her. She responded in kind, letting small gasps escape her little mouth every now and then. Kissing her in the forehead, Riku whispered, "We'll get through this somehow. You'll see."

"Thanks," she whispered.

After a few minutes of hugging and reassuring each other, they cleaned the mess Riku had made and went upstairs.

"Are you staying over, Kai?"

"Yes, I already spoke with Sor's mom and she said it was okay."

"I'll let you go then. Sweet dreams."

"You too. Oh and give a kiss to Sora for me, will you?"

Riku snorted. "Hell no, you little scoundrel!"

Chuckling and obviously feeling a bit better, Kairi went to the spare room while he locked himself up with his drunken buddy. He might not feel drunk anymore, but his body still definitely felt the effects. So while he made a makeshift bed out of quilts and wrestled an extra pillow out of Sora's hands, he thought.

_Of all the things the King could want, it had to be this. Come to think of it, it's the only thing he'll ever need assistance with. I mean, I'm glad I can be of any help, but does it have to be now, when our lives are about to start? Normal lives, at that. I want Sora to say yes, but at the same time I want him to say NO. We've dealt with so many things before, things we don't want to go through again. Tcht, I hate being indecisive. _

_Man, Sora snores too loud when he's drunk! Maybe if I turn him around… There we go. _

_Now, where was I? Ah yes, decisions. Well, those will fall on Sora's hand, I know that. I wonder what our place in this is. I guess we'll have to wait for the King to answer that. But wait… There was a document attached to that letter. Why did Kairi not show it to me? No use in wondering now, she's probably sleeping already. _

All the while, he changed into more comfortable clothes, turned off the light and went to the bathroom. He needed to use the toilet, and fast!

_Ah, relief! Flush, wash hands, brush teeth… Yep, that's about it. _

_Hmm… Kai said something about the weird girl living in one of the houses near the beach. Maybe that's the girl I saw? Pft, impossible! The only people who live there are the Morrison's and they never said anything about a girl living with them. Just in case, I'll go there tomorrow. I do want to see her, after all. _

_Man, I'm getting a headache. I'm just gonna pass out, like right about… now._

_Ahh…_

It took extraordinary talent to be drunk and perceptive at the same time. But even with talent, one's bound to forget something, especially when you fell asleep.

It was why Riku probably forgot to tell Kairi that Selphie had said not so long ago that she had a new friend who, even with her strangeness, was a very good soul.

oooOooo

He barely noticed the whispers. He rarely did. But every time he dreamt, they were always there. They spoke of untold fights, of untold conquests of Darkness against Light. They wanted him to listen, since he was a part of their realm, but his heart denied them entrance, forever barring secrets from entering his mind, from tainting his soul. He was, after all, a part of Light's realm too.

Upon a rock he sat, staring at the stars that hung above in the darkened sky, contemplating the waves that crashed against the shore. Light never shined here. It was Darkness's territory, and so dark it remained.

He was certain he'd been here once, with someone by his side. But who? And why?

'_Forget about that, forget about him. Listen to us instead, let us take you to a place you've never been before. Let us grant that which you desire. Come on, let us in!'_

Oblivious to the whispers, he kept thinking of a time where he'd had to give up so much for a certain soul. Was it his friend's, or was it _his_? Mulling over his thoughts, he didn't notice a light that appeared behind him. It wasn't hard to notice it, because how did Light touch this place? But he wasn't paying attention to trivial stuff like that so he let it go. At least, until a voice started speaking to him, a voice he was certain he should've ignored, just like the whispers.

"_You have their blood within you."_

He tried to turn around, to see who had broken his barrier and spoken to him, but couldn't. "Who are you?"

"_My name is of no importance. It is your soul that is suffering and must be healed."_

"Healed? There's nothing to heal. I did that back when I saved him."

"_You mean your friend? You must realize that saving another soul does not heal yours. It is still tainted, calling madly for more._"

"I really don't know why that is then. Maybe my path has lied to me all along? If that's it, then man I've been blind!"

"_Twilight does not lie. You just simply blocked from your mind that the path you now walk on is full of thorns._"

He futilely tried to turn around again. The voice, the one that clearly sounded like a woman's, was really pissing him off. "Then what the hell am I doing wrong? I've stayed away from those thorns, and have not dared to open myself up to anything at all! Should I just touch them, give in and fuck everything and everyone, just to heal myself?"

"_You still lack maturity, and the strength to carry on, I see. But it is not your fault._"

"Then whose fault is it?! I can't certainly blame anyone else, now can I?"

"_It's the blood's fault._"

What in the world was she going on about? Blood? His?

"_No, not yours. __Theirs._"

He then saw an arm, _her_ arm, pointing straight at the waves as they crashed against the sand. And when he looked, he froze.

What he saw there weren't normal things, at least for his normalcy standards. They looked like heartless, they really did, but oh how they chilled his body to the core, something not even the most strongest of the heartless had done. What made them even worse was the fact that they didn't walk, or run, or fly. They fucking _crawled_, as if they were spawns of demons somewhere. It took him just a second to notice that their movements were fast, too. Their lithe bodies moved towards him, claws digging in the sand, their spiked tales catching the eerie dark light of the place. But the thing that freaked him out the most was their eyes.

They were a deep, deep violet that contrasted heavily with their dark bodies.

"What… ARE those things?" he whispered.

"_Your own spawns._"

And this conversation was getting WAY out of hand. He stood and tried to wake up- PLEASE let me wake the FUCK UP- but something stopped him from achieving his goal. Actually, make that a someone. Her hand was on his shoulder, stopping his retreat entirely. It felt warm, though, so he didn't comment about that.

"Why… Who… What's going on?"

"_You have so much to learn, just as I do. I'll never remember this, though, but I'm sure you will. Hopefully you will. So please, listen well to what I'm about to say._"

He had no choice in the matter, what with her trying to keep him there, so he nodded.

"_I am near, yet I am far. You are near, yet you are far. _

_We dance together, you and I, while our lords float up in the sky._

_Darkness bounds you, while Light is mine, together facing each other's crimes._

_You must learn to heal, I must learn to smile, in order to make our lives worthwhile. _

_If we fail, we'll no longer be part of our world's destiny, _

_becoming part of another tragedy._

_We are near, yet we are far, our doors left opened just ajar_."

As her little piece of poetry ended she turned him around. And he saw the most beautiful, yet horrifying, sight ever.

Beautiful brown eyes- shaped like acorns- stared back at him, a color he hadn't seen in quite a long time. They were full of an emotion he was quite well familiar with. Self-hate was a constant with him, apparently. A perky nose greeted him, leading downwards to a set of lips that were contradicting in their sizes, the bottom one being the fullest. Her cheeks looked soft, and her cheekbones were high, softly blushing red in his scrutiny. Her pale complexion was accented by her overly curly brown hair, which was tied behind her neck in a long ponytail, which then let him notice her ears. They were shaped like elves', sort of like Santa's helping little friends.

What shocked him to the core, what made him feel truly horrified, was the scar.

_The scar. The scar that traveled from eye to cheek in a straight line._

_This is her, this is the girl my friend mentioned. _

"_Now you see, and now you know._"

Her melodic voice started fading away, into the Light that had carried her here. He reached out, grasped the hand that was falling from his shoulder, and found that what had been flesh had now turned into mist. "Wait, I've got to ask you something!"

She gave a saddened smile. "_Don't worry,_ _we'll meet. Then you shall ask._" Her last words as she completely faded were not what he'd expected to hear. "_Until next time, Stalker._"

"Wait! Don't leave me like this! I've a lot to ask, dammit!" Instead of hearing the sweet tone of her voice he heard, for the first time in a long time, the whispers in his dreams.

'_Let us in. You know you want to. What are so you scared of? With us, you could be powerful. With us, you could be fearless. With us, you could be extraordinary._'

"NO!" he screamed. "I won't let you control me anymore! My path is Twilight's path, and I'll be damned if I stray from it. Now get LOST!"

The whispers laughed, mocking every word that escaped his lips. They kept on talking, tempting him with sweet words like never before. He did not want to be here. He didn't want to fall, not again. "Please! Let me out, let me OUT!" He begged and begged to no one in particular, to every existing god out there, but no one answered, nothing helped him. So he did the only thing he could: he ran.

Ran as far away as possible from the shore, ran as far away from those things, and ran away from the whispers that still followed him everywhere he went. Was there no end to this? Was he cursed to live with this for the rest of his life? Was he ever going to be separated from his Darkness, or was he to remain its slave forever? He didn't want this, he didn't _need_ this, not when he needed to remain calm and strong.

Not noticing where he was going he tripped on a rock and fell. _Of all the times I could fall down, it had to be now!_ Wanting to get a close look at his surroundings he looked up, and stared directly into one of the things eyes.

He screamed. And as he did so, more of those things surrounded him.

_This is a nightmare, it just has to be!_

He kept screaming, and kept on screaming, and kept on screaming…

…Until someone slapped him, hard.

"RIKU! Wake the hell up!"

He did, gasping for breath and feeling sweaty all over. To top it all off, he had the mother of all headaches and the sun was just shining through the windows, _right at his eyes_. He groaned. "Sor what the hell, man? Please, close the damn curtains!"

He did as asked and he was grateful, just until Sora started screaming at him. "What in the world is up with you? You woke me up screaming and moaning like a little girl!"

Riku tried to cover his ears, but Sora's voice still sounded like a dying hyena to him. "I do not scream like a little girl, and please lower your voice. It's splitting my head in two."

"Well that's what you get for being a total asshole and making _my_ head feel worse with all of your damn noises."

Riku fell back on the makeshift bed and covered his face with his hands while his friend sat on his own bed. He heard Sora asking him questions, about whether if he'd had a nightmare or if it was something else. He really didn't want to answer, because then he had to reveal that Darkness still affected him. And if Sora found out that he'd broken his promise, he'd feel bad, very bad. So he told Sora a half-truth.

"It was a nightmare, yes."

"Of…?"

Sighing, Riku said, "Ansem. Please, let's leave it at that. We'll talk later, alright?"

"Whatever you say Riku, but just as long as we actually talk about it-"

"Yes, don't worry, we will."

"Okay."

Quiet ensued. Then Sora broke the tranquil mood by blurting, "Did we see Kairi last night?! Tell me it was her ghost or something!"

Riku couldn't help it. Even though he still felt like crap, he laughed. Trust Sora to enlighten the mood whether he knew what he was doing or not.

_**~Chapter End~**_

**A/N: **I finally got the first couple chapters written, guys! I know it's been a long time, but I just had to make everything better. Hopefully the new story captivates you more than the old one.

And how did I do? Please let me know! I want to get better, and for that I need your help. :)

Feedback is greatly appreciated!


	3. Chapter 2: Selfishness Or Selflessness

***I'm pretty sure that Kingdom Hearts doesn't mention anything about Riku's parents, so please go along with this one. I'm making it fit my story line.***

**Warnings: **It's pretty much the cursing again. And just so you know, I won't be doing this in every chapter. If something else pops up, I'll let you know. You have been forewarned.

**Chapter 2: Selfishness or Selflessness?**

It was turning out to be… quite the morning.

When he and Sora headed down for breakfast, after having fallen asleep again, Kairi was nowhere to be found. She left a message with Sora's mom, saying that her dad had called on urgent matters.

"Did she say what it was?"

"No, dear, she just told me that while sprinting out of the house."

Riku hoped against all hope that this didn't have anything to do with the King. Sora still didn't know anything, and he certainly wasn't about to be the one to explain it to him.

After they ate and Sora's mom went to buy some groceries they sat on the sofa and stared at nothing, spoke of nothing. For a while they just sat there, each lost in their thoughts. It was a comfortable moment, one they hadn't shared in a long time.

Sora, of course, had to ruin it by asking what Riku was dreading to answer. "So, can you tell me all about your dream now?"

He sighed. So much to tell, yet no words came out. He was afraid to tell his best friend, to be honest. He knew he could trust Sora, and he certainly remembered what his friend had once said: "_You're not alone. You don't need to do everything by yourself._" He cherished those words more than anyone knew. But he still felt unsure of how to tell his friend that he still needed help, how to feel fine while feeling dirty on the inside. How to hide? But then, how to scream _I surrender_? It was on the tip of his tongue to give a nasty retort to Sora, yet something stopped him.

_He's the only one who knows who I am, and has accepted me just like that. Do I want to lose that? Do I want to lose him?_

It was then that he decided to tell his friend about his dream. Sighing, he opened his mouth to begin his tale. As soon as he did, though, he heard a sigh, a blissful whisper murmuring sweet things in his ear, a wonderful melody passing through his ears. _'I see nothing, I hear nothing, I speak nothing.'_ He didn't know what the words meant, but he found himself uttering nonsense that his heart knew to be a lie. And suddenly, his half-truth became _the_ truth.

"I… saw Ansem, in the Dark Realm. He was trying to control me again, trying to tangle me into his plans. He was looking for someone…" _a girl_… Wait, was there a girl in his dream? No, just him and Ansem, right? "I really can't say who, just that he needed my help. But I denied him entrance to my heart, to my mind, to my soul. So he set free a new kind of…" _heartless? But they didn't look like them… Weren't they demons of some kind?_ Suddenly, a powerful headache took hold of him, making him swallow the rest of his words. Sora mistook his pain and started a totally unneeded, but wanted, speech.

"Riku, Ansem is gone. He won't be able to hurt you anymore. And if he ever found a way to come back we beat the crap out of him, just like last time. We've defeated him again and again. What's to say that we couldn't take him on if he walked right through that door?"

Hushed words escaped his lips before he could stop them. "My weak self."

Sora heard him, but he stayed quiet for a while. What could one possibly say to that? Riku felt him move, felt him sit down right next to him. Then Sora said, "Hell, man, you aren't weak. A weak man lets himself be carried away by what's drowning him instead of fighting against the current. You fought, and you succeeded. And if you think that having darkness inside of you counts as a weakness, well, then stop thinking that way. Darkness is a part of you just as Light is. And if you ever feel like this again, you can come to me. I've told you this before, and I'll say it again. You are not alone."

Riku felt humbled beyond words that his best friend had chosen those words. His conscious mind was screaming at him _you're weak for believing in him, for using him this way_ but his heart felt free, like a weight had lifted from it. He had no idea how to respond, though, so he stayed quiet after that, thinking of a way to thank Sora for everything he'd done. Just as he was about to say something, he started feeling funny. His chest was getting clogged, his breathing had increased, and… _Oh fuck, I am not about to cry._ He never bawled. He never did.

He never did…

As he put his hands on his face, covering the evidence of what he knew were tears, Sora hugged him. No words were said, nothing else was done. They just stayed that way, embracing the comfort that a true friendship brought.

**oooOooo**

"So she isn't coming back?"

"No Sora, she's not."

Riku felt tired. Not only had he had a breakdown just a couple of hours ago; his special friend wasn't going to return.

When they'd arrived at the old Morrison's house, they'd discovered that another person lived there, a woman in her sixties or so. When asked about the Morrison's she'd said that they weren't coming back, not for a long time. Ms. Morrison had apparently been in a horrible accident, one that had left her crippled beyond repair.

"Would you like to leave a message for them? I'm sure I can contact them soon."

"Ah no, thanks ma'am. We'll just be on our way then."

"Please, call me Anita. And you're welcome here anytime you feel like it. It might not be the same, but maybe I can be a friend to you, just like Marcia was."

"Thanks."

And so, now they were headed to the ice cream parlor near the beach just to chill for a while. Sora had insisted on going, actually. With Riku acting so forlorn that day, he was bound to come up with more bubbly ideas just to cheer him up.

"I just can't believe it…"

"She was that special to you?" Sora asked, without any jealousy tainting his tone.

"Yeah, like the mother I never had."

"Wow, that deep, huh?"

"Yep."

He still felt that wound stir up inside of him, a wound that he'd thought he was bound to forget. But then again, it was not every day that a kid that age lost his mother to stupid car accidents. His dad had made it all worse by marrying again after only two years of mourning. He'd never forgive that, but he had subdued his anger towards him. And his stepmom wasn't really that bad. She was just very strict.

So deep in thought was he that he hadn't noticed the person standing right in front of him, bumping the person without meaning to.

"Hey, what gives?!"

"Oh, sorry… Tidus?"

"Well will you look at that! Never thought I'd see the day where Riku said he was sorry to another person!"

"Ha-ha. Was that supposed to be a joke?"

"You bet!" After laughing like a maniac for a couple of seconds at his own stupidity, Tidus stretched out his hand in greeting to him and Sora. "So, what brings you two to this godforsaken place?"

Sora gasped. "Ice cream is not godforsaken, you evil bastard!"

"Pft, try working at the damn shop, then you'll see what I mean."

Riku thought he heard Sora utter something along the lines of _you whinny brat_ and smirked. Count on Tidus to make Sora act like a kid all over again. "So," he said, "you out of work already?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah. I'm waiting for Wakka to get here, though. I swear, ever since he outgrew us he's been 'primping' too much, you know?"

"Hear hear," chorused the guys.

"Oh, before I forget! Guys, there's another party being held two weeks from now. And you are all cordially invited."

"Ugh, not again!" whined Sora. "Last night was just too much, man."

"Chicken."

Silence fell after that uttered word. Riku could even hear Sora's teeth grinding from annoyance with how great the silence was. If there was one thing he never thought to call Sora unless he wanted to spur the guy, it had to be that word. What had Tidus done?

"What was that?" Sora growled.

Tidus leaned forward and, right at Sora's face, with a wicked gleam in his eyes, repeated the one word. "Chicken."

"When and where?"

"Now that's more like it! It'll be two weeks from now, like I said, at Selphie's house. Her parents will be out of town for a while that weekend, so she said 'Hell, why not?' and planned for it right away. Oh, but it won't be as wild as yesterday's, I think. She just wants us to meet this new friend of hers. "

And here was the part where Riku stopped breathing. Well, just for a little while.

_The girl… The girl with the scar… Maybe… _

"Argh!"

"Riku? Yo' hey, you allright?"

It was Tidus who noticed first, but he didn't particularly care. Not when his brain felt like it was about to explode. '_Not this again, dammit!'_ Oh, how it hurt! It was even worse this time around. Why oh why was this happening to him? Maybe it had to do with his dre-? "Argh, brain, stop thinking!" He grabbed his head with force to get his point across. But as much force as he put into his arms his head was still a pounding mess. Dimly he felt someone trying to pry his arms free. But couldn't they see? Couldn't they understand the pain he was in? He wanted to reach into himself and rip his brain apart, just as long as it made the pain stop!

"Riku! Tidus, go get some water or something! Please hurry!"

"Okay just… okay!"

And just as it came, it stopped. The pain lifted from his head like a flower being plucked from its own resting place. Yeah, that hurt much worse, but the relief he felt afterwards was worth it. He started feeling his surroundings again just as Tidus came back with the water, which he then proceeded to splash all over his face.

Receiving a murderous glare from Riku, Tidus immediately cowered behind Sora's back. "Erm… I was trying to help?"

"You could've been… more quicker in getting it, you know," uttered a stunned Sora.

At least any of it hadn't happened inside the shop. Otherwise he would've been more embarrassed than he already was. Standing up with the help of Sora, he started to go straight for the bus stop. He could hear Sora arguing with Tidus and he wanted no part in the fight.

Sitting on the sidewalk, he couldn't help but notice how blue the sky was, how pretty the birds sang, how wonderful his island was. This beauty was not meant to be stared at by the likes of him. He was cursed, inside and out apparently. He certainly didn't want to taint such marvelous wonders with his own darkness. Yet it couldn't be helped. And while he lived here, there was no stopping it.

Just when were things going to end? More importantly, when was his darkness going to leave him alone?

Also, was any of this part of his darkness? Or was there something more?

_Ever since last night's dream, I can't seem to freely speak or think of… _"Shit! Damn headache…" _Riku, if you can't find a roundabout way to solve this freaking mess, or even THINK about it, I'll blast your stupid ass apart. This I swear to all that is holy!_

He never swore to anything that was holy, so the threat was a serious one.

_So the… person Kairi was talking about might be the same one that Selphie knows. I mean, duh on that one. But seriously, is the person the same as… Okaaaaaay, no more thinking about my dream, idiot! Shit, where DID this pain come from, anyway? I haven't had such a strong hangover in what feels like forever, maybe this is my punishment for drinking so much? _

It certainly didn't feel like it. Or so he thought.

_Answers, I need answers, dammit! Wait a minute… Kairi!_

"Earth to Riku! Man, are you sure you're okay?"

Oh, so that was the annoying sound he heard a couple of seconds ago. "Sora? I thought you were still arguing with Tidus."

"Are you kidding me? That was like five minutes ago! What the hell were you thinking about, man?"

He stood up so suddenly that his head bumped right into Sora's chin. He didn't feel the pain, though. His main goal was Kairi. Grabbing Sora's hand, he pulled the poor boy along, all the while muttering things like darkness, headaches, and Kairi. That was when Sora reacted.

"Wait wait wait! Riku, Kairi? She'll probably yell at me for yesterday! Can't we please just, oh I dunno, postpone the whole thing?"

But Riku ignored his best friend. He had to see Kairi, he wanted to speak with her, and that was that.

**oooOooo**

"But Riku come on! He said he was sorry."

"So?"

"Can't you please tell him that it was nothing? Or forgive him? Hell, just do whatever you want just get him to stop whining at me!"

"No."

"Geez, you're such a jerk sometimes, did you know?!"

"So I've been told."

"Ugh! You are an impossible man, you hear? Impossible!"

And that was when Selphie left his workplace, taking all the drama with her. In truth, he'd already gotten past the whole fiasco with Tidus and the water thing. He was just having a bit of fun with the guy. Selphie, apparently, was taking the brunt of it. And hey, what do you know, he was killing two birds with one stone. Ah, payback could be such a bitch.

"Hey brotha', how's it hanging?"

He smirked at Wakka and kept on with the asshole thing. Hey, it was fun, don't judge. "What's it to you?"

"Ah, you're not fooling me, ya' hear? Not fooling me at all."

Riku chuckled and extended his hand in greeting. "I've been good, man. Just, you know, being a slave for life. Or at least, until they kick me out."

"Yeah, and if things keep going like they're going, either Selphie or TIdus will probably get ya' fired sooner than ya' think."

He shuddered. "If such a thing were to happen, I would totally go and beat Tidus to a pulp and make him go whine at Selphie every damn day."

"Ah, I'll make sure to be there if it happens. Can't miss that, brudah'."

As Wakka chuckled at the mental picture, Riku went to gather his things from the lockers at the back. Work was getting demanding by the day and it was certainly taking a toll on him. But if he wanted to attend college, then so be it. Ah, but couldn't there be a better job than being a waiter?

"Man, it's getting full out there. Too bad my shift starts now."

"And thank the skies above that I am out of here!"

"Oh hey, I forgot. The little brutha is here. You might want to see what he wants, ya'?

Why was Sora here? Oh wait. Wait! It couldn't be…

"And that's my cue to leave. Later Wakka!"

"Yeah, see ya'!"

Riku got out of there like a bat out of hell, almost bumping into another waitress in the process. As soon as he got out he saw Sora leaning on a palm tree, all casual as fuck. Yeah right. As he approached the guy he sensed something was off, which meant that yes, Sora had finally made a decision. He was afraid to ask him, though, so he kept quiet and let Sora start to talk. It took him a while and when he finally did speak, Riku's heart felt ready to explode with the tension.

"It's a beautiful day, don't you think?" He smiled at Riku, but he knew that to be a lie. His sky blue eyes, after all, reflected sadness deeply engrained within them. "Everyone think so too. Just look at the place! I mean, Little Haven was already famous to begin with, and it is summer, but it's uncommonly full today. And just look at the sky! So clear and blue and-"

"Sora, you're rambling."

"Ah, sorry." His apology was accentuated by his hand, which went through his hair in an apologetic manner. "I'm hanging around Kairi too much."

"I thought you wanted that," he teased.

"Ah, hey! Stop that!"

Riku smiled at the obvious effort of stalling the conversation Sora was going through. But they had to get serious, the sooner the better. Thankfully Sora noticed too, and all of a sudden his demeanor changed.

"C'mon. Let's walk."

And so he followed Sora all the way to Paopu Island, their little piece of heaven on Earth. It felt strange to follow someone when he used to be the leader, when he used to be the one being followed. But he needed to get used to this new feeling. He wasn't who he used to be anymore. Not in that sense, at least.

As they sat comfortably in their usual spot Riku felt nervous. He'd felt the same three days ago, when they had gone over to Kairi's house and she had broken the news to Sora. Riku remembered how his best friend had looked. It would haunt his dreams for nights to come. Before coming to a conclusion, though, he'd demanded the strange document that Riku had yet to see. She reluctantly handed it over, with a face that betrayed her uncertainty towards things.

"I tried to understand things, to make sense of it all, but…"

Sora had put a finger on Kairi's lips, effectively stopping the babbling that was on the tip of her tongue. "Kai, it's all right." As he opened the document, he started reading it out loud:

'_Once upon a time, in a land far, far away that existed in between the stars, a world like no other rested in peace and tranquility. It was a rather strange place, one that had apparently belonged to half angels._

_Legend had it that Eterna's populace was once one with The Maker of all things, the ruler of all worlds. Drawings showed these Halflings roaming this strange unknown land after their supposed falling, yet we have no true evidence of this, only the word of an unknown man in a dark cloak. _

"_These creatures of Light were known as Pacifiers," the man in the cloak had said. "They were angels that once lived eternally beside The Maker. But then, a revolution happened. It was not a mere one, mind you, but one were they doubted every word, every movement, their Maker had done. As they rebelled and showed their true colors, The Maker punished those who dared to corrupt his home."_

_The cloaked man had said that those who agreed upon attacking the ones who stood strong with The Creator of all things were turned into demons known as Stalkers, and were sent to a special underworld, one were they got what they wanted- power, recognition- at a certain price. _

_The angels who chose to stay with The Maker remained by his side, forever innocent in their eternal life._

_And those who stayed neutral were sent to a special world, one we hadn't even known existed, until now.'_

"It ends there?" asked a bewildered Riku.

"No, here's the other half. Mind you, this one is just a sentence, and they don't seem to have a specific order. That much I was able to gather, anyway."

Sora took the other sheet of paper from Kairi with trembling fingers. Again, he read out loud:

'… _and to get to this world, one must possess the special key that unbinds what it's keeping Eterna's gate shut…'_

As silence gathered around the three teens a thought occurred to Sora. "These sort of remind me of Ansem's notes."

"Huh?"

"Oh right, Kai, I never told you about them. The notes, they used to belong to the real Ansem, the one we met over at The World That Never Was. Although I think Xemnas did write some of his own, but I'm not sure. They were actually reports, though, and the ones that were written by him were the first ones."

"The first ones? You mean to say that you also found them…"

"When Donald, Goofy, Jiminy and I were closing the world's doors instead of opening them, yes. Right now, these papers here remind me of them. But why?"

"Maybe when the King gets here you can discuss it."

Sora looked at Kairi without any outward reaction at all. It was as if he had retreated to the back of his mind. What he was thinking was harder to guess this time around. After all, Sora was an open book, a book that, for that moment in time, had closed shut. He looked over to Riku then, and he swore he saw Sora shudder. From what, Riku would probably find out soon enough.

As the gulls flew up ahead, and the waves crashed against the shore, Sora spoke. "You must be wondering where in the hell have I been this whole time. Well, this is your answer."

Riku's surprise was obvious as he asked, "Here? You've been here this whole time?"

Sora chuckled. "Yes, doofus, here. I did tell mom where I was gonna be, and that if you passed by and asked she could tell you where I was, but apparently neither of you did. Thank you, for granting me a bit of privacy."

Riku just nodded. After all, if he were in the same situation, he would've wanted some time alone as well, to think and organize his thoughts. "So, what's it gonna be?"

Pursing his lips -an act that made him appear like a kid still- his friend responded to his question. "I'm sure you still remember when Kairi first got here, to this world."

"Of course, how can I forget?"

"Well, remember that feeling we used to have? The excitement from guessing what was out there? If other worlds existed? And then we would get silly ideas of how to get to them. Adventure! Always adventure! That was the only thing we would ever think of. We never thought of the consequences that our decisions could bring.

"One bad thing after another I was there, trying to put the pieces back together of what was wrong, or what felt like it. The people I met, the sights I saw, yeah they all spoke of genuine happiness. But that had been once upon a time. They were entirely marked by the Heartless and everything that related to them. They were sad, they were destroyed, but above all, they would never be the same.

"Which is why I've been thinking so much. Why go back to the pain that once marked my life as well? Why give up what we've established here, again? It's been two years since our return! Why let it all go?"

Riku had no answers to that. He especially had nothing to say when Sora spoke next. "And what about you guys? I mean, Kairi was barely there, but she still felt the world's effect. And you! Riku, out of all the people that I cherish, you were the one that hurt the most! Knowing you and Kairi, you'll follow me wherever I go! Not saying it's a bad thing, really, because I would love to have you always by my side, but I wish to spare you all the same bullshit that we went through! Can't we keep living in peace? Can't the world find itself another savior, another keyblade warrior?!"

He was panting so hard, it was a miracle he hadn't choked on air. And Riku, well, Riku was actually doing the same, except he couldn't notice. He was transfixed by Sora's speech, how could he notice the little things at such a crucial moment?

Sora gave a long suffering sigh and continued. "But then… but then I keep thinking, and thinking, and thinking. Other's actions influence our own. Other decisions trigger what our lives will be like. Those other people, in those other planets, live by the decisions of others. Most of them are even helpless to fight back. And that is why… that is why I must say yes.

"Riku, people like you and me are able to fight back against other's manipulations, but what of the weak? What of the children that have yet to grow? Who will fight their battles until they learn to fight their own? Who will give them the hope they need in order to survive?

"Now I'm not asking you to hop onboard with me. You can stay and enjoy life here, with Kairi and the rest. Knowing you, you'll just get on that gummi ship before I've had the chance to properly greet the king, once he gets here. But please, think about it. Think about _everything_. You can do whatever you like afterwards, but just please…"

Here's the thing. Riku loved to death that his friend was as self-sacrificing as he was. He also loathed it. But his words… they certainly stroke a chord inside of him. They also touched forbidden places within him, places that still hurt very much, but he couldn't deny that they rang with truth. And as he kept hearing what Sora had to dish out, he already had his answer.

Stretching his arm before him, he summoned his keyblade, Way to Dawn. "Sor, this was given to me for a reason. I knew it when I felt selfish enough to actually think about persuading you to say no to King Mickey's request, and I know it now when _you_ persuaded me otherwise. I do want to carry on with my life here, a peaceful one at that. Sure I may have wanted differently way back then, but now I know. Now we know.

"Of course, I can't deny that I'm still mad at the King for intruding in our lives this way, but somewhere, deep, deep down inside of us, we knew this day would come. I dread it. I don't want it. But, just as you said, we were chosen not for own gain, our own pleasures, but for others. We defend. We fight. We protect. There's nothing in this world that can change that, as much as we wished otherwise."

He jumped from the paopu palm tree they were sitting at and landed swiftly on the sand, facing the sea. Was he going to regret this as much as he regretted his first adventure? But then, he couldn't regret something that made him into who he was today. Would this also make him grow? Would it bring joy into his life? Or would it be just like last time? "No, I won't let fear clog me anymore." He turned around and faced his buddy with a determined attitude. "I'll join you, Keyblade Warrior, as a fellow comrade, as a man in arms, and as the dear friend you are to me." Raising his weapon he pointed it at Sora and smirked. "Now, show me what you've got, Sor. Let's see how much you've forgotten about fighting."

For a moment his friend didn't respond, didn't move. His head was hanging low on his shoulders, his hair hiding his eyes from Riku's immediate view. After a few seconds, Riku realized why. Sora was crying. "It's still not fair," the boy whispered. "It's still not fair…"

Riku lowered his keyblade and reached his friend, dropping an arm on his shoulders. That was when he noticed the lone girl hiding in the small shack that gave way to their spot. So, Kairi had followed them. Well, thank the lucky stars she had. He himself wasn't that good with feelings. What he'd shown so far was as good as he was going to get. It was a good thing that she was there, then. He beckoned her over with a small head gesture and she practically ran to them. Once she was within viewing point it was clear that she had heard everything. She was also crying.

Hugging Sora with all of her strength, she started to sob in earnest, uttering words like _moron_ and _you self-sacrificing idiot_. Sora had a strange look on his face, which Riku thought had to do with the fact that his crush was seeing him cry. But then he returned the gesture, hugging Kairi with as much force as she was showing.

After a few minutes they let go of each other. "I, as the Princess of Heart that I am, command you to let me go with you on your journey, this time not as a captive, but as the friend I am to you. And even if you disagree, I'll get on that ship anyway. Mark my words!"

"Words marked," Sora chuckled.

And somehow they knew that this time, no matter how it went, they would be together, no matter what.

"Now, how about a good ol' rumble, for old time's sake?"

Sora genuinely smiled this time and hopped off the tree while summoning his own keyblade. "Let's do this."

**oooOooo**

Sunset had caught up with them and after a pleasant afternoon of practice and playful banter, Sora, Riku and Kairi headed back to the main island where they, coincidentally, bumped into Selphie. She was actually going to her favorite sport shop, 'Surfing & More', because there was a special on the latest scuba diving equipment she had set her eyes on a while ago. So, with nothing important that needed to be done, they accompanied her to the store. On the way she kept pestering Riku about Tidus, and he in turn kept bantering with the girl. It was fun to see her get mad.

Entering the place, Riku headed over to see what was new on the soccer section of the shop, not paying attention to the small commotion going on behind him. It was no concern of his if Selphie wanted to get excited over small things. Just as he was about to grab something from the shelf, a hand gripped his shoulder.

"Hey Riku, I've got someone that wants to meet you!" exclaimed an overly excited Selphie. "She already met the others but since you weren't there, I thought I'd bring her to you and…"

Blah, blah, blah was all he heard coming from her because, as he turned around, the sight that greeted him left him in quite the state of shock. He didn't even notice Sora and Kairi standing right behind the girl, looking quite as shocked as he felt.

"Everyone, meet Alicia, the friend I've been dying for you to meet!"

_Alicia…_ "Argh!" Holding his head tightly between his hands he fell on his knees, because the pain that gripped him this time made the others look like a walk through the park. He somehow suspected this would happen, though. Did it have to be this hard, this painful, to look at someone else's eyes? Looking at her yet again through half shut eyes, he saw confusion written on her features. Yet…

"_So we meet again, Stalker"._

_I guess now is a perfect time to pass the fuck out…_ were Riku's last thoughts before he promptly did that.

_**~Chapter End~**_

**A/N:** If you get confused somewhere along the ride, let me know and I'll explain whatever I can without giving away the plot, of course. ;D

Feedback is greatly appreciated!


	4. Chapter 3: Dark Games

**Author's Note**: Hey guys, what's up? :D Hopefully you're enjoying the story so far, I know I am! Now, a few heads up before you start reading.

I'm introducing four OC's into the story, because they are needed for the plot to develop the way I want it to. I know some people don't like that, so I'm just warning you in advance. Three have already appeared (Alicia, Anita, Alex- hey, they all start with an A xD), so I'm now missing one. Also, if you haven't noticed it yet, this is sort of AU (Eterna IS a new world, so it has to be classified as such).

And I'm keeping and mixing some details of the canon story line, like the fact that, even in Destiny Islands, the currency will keep being munny.

One last thing: If you notice any of the characters being OOC, please understand, and forgive me. I was trying to make the beginning a bit more realistic than the game, but just a tiny bit. I don't want to muck the characterizations up, trust me.

And I've been forgetting this ever since chapter one, so I'll put it in now.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters. No money is being made out of this.

**Warnings:** Mentions of sexy times, but nothing happens that merits a change in rating. And of course, the cursing. That's about it, really.

Enjoy!

**Chapter 3: Dark Games **

The birds sang as Riku strolled along the sidewalk, making it an almost perfect day if you mingled it with the clear blue sky and the playful atmosphere all around him.

Too bad HE couldn't get injected with said playfulness.

"I can't believe our stupid professor paired us up for this stupid project! I mean, couldn't he see my 'Hey, I hate this guy, can you not pair me up with someone else' face?! This is so not fair!"

And this was definitely karma going up his ass for what he'd done wrong a long time ago. Couldn't she just shut up for oh, let's say, forever? She'd been throwing tantrums ever since they got out of class, for heaven's sake! And that had been over –he looked at his watch to confirm that yes, it had been over an hour ago. Geez, it wasn't as if he were the devil incarnate, so why the hell were her panties in a twist?

_Well, it could be that bet you and that guy, Alex, made…_

'Wow, that was very helpful, brain', he sarcastically thought.

"And why are we doing this over at your house? Can't we go to the park or something? All we have to do is make a canvas out of something that inspires you and trust me, anything that has to do with you disgust me."

Why oh why did he have to listen to Tidus and go to his stupid parties? Oh yeah, when alcohol got mixed with the guy and his over the top parties, there was no stopping Riku. He now regretted his decision of 'trying to be funny to impress the new guy' every single day of what was now his life.

"Why in the world you chose this class is a mystery to me, soldier in training. Aren't you supposed to be in physical education or something?"

Sighing out of misery he decided to respond in a not so friendly manner. He was getting close to pissed off, and that annoyed him. "Look, I've told you before and you more than anyone else know that I'm doing this for Kairi. She wanted us to be together in at least one class every damn semester and that's that."

"You know, your relationship with Sora and Kairi seems awfully suspicious. The way you treat and follow each other… Anyone with the wrong sort of mind would think you have a threesome or something."

That… was a low blow. She knew she'd done wrong by the way she immediately shut up. If that was the bright side of this situation, then his day sucked balls. He grabbed her by the arm and pinned her to the wall of an alley they were passing by, heavily breathing right at her face. She was also breathless and very surprised at being roughly handled.

"Do not say that again, you hear? They have nothing to do with this. You've screamed, called me names, and even slapped me and I've taken it all. But don't mix my friends with what happened."

"I… sorry," she whispered. She then turned her face around and completely ignored his stare. He was glad she was embarrassed. She definitely crossed a line with her comment. Letting go of her he wondered why in the world she had thrown Sora and Kairi into the fray. She liked them a lot.

Resuming their walk, quietly this time, he thought back to why she was the way she was with him.

The first time they'd met, when he'd fainted (God, he was still embarrassed by that!)? The only way he woke up was being over a foot away from her presence, and even that short distance gave him the mother of all headaches. It was why he couldn't go to Selphie's party or why he never saw her after that. It had literally been a 'Nice to meet you, Goodbye' scenario, where the fainting had been his introduction and his headaches the thing that prevented him from interacting with her at all.

But Kairi, being the gentle heart that she was and not liking the situation at all, had come up with an amazing idea. Riku had to ingest potent amounts of either pills or alcohol in order to numb his headaches while Alicia was within range. If he wanted to get along with the poor girl -he had to because of that weird dream- then he had to choose either one of those options. Riku, to Kairi's dismay, had chosen alcohol because he was used to it and he did not want to carry another sort of addiction in his system. She hadn't said anything, though, since she was the one who'd offered the idea.

What a mistake that had been. Especially at that last party before college started.

Tidus, master of all the fuck ups that had happened ever since their return, had planned a 'Super Last Summer Bash', as he called it, where he introduced the gang to his new roommate, Alex. He had invited a lot of people for that party, roughly fifty by his count. Those fifty had then invited people, those people had invited more and by the time it was midnight, almost all of Destiny Island was cramped in Tidus's house. He couldn't say for sure, though, since he'd passed out of alcohol consumption after midnight.

In between those people had suddenly appeared Alicia with Selphie. That had been before his passing out, unfortunately. Because he was heavily intoxicated and his head hadn't felt like it was about to explode, he hadn't noticed her presence at all. That proved Kairi had been right. But then Alex had noticed her. He started bashing her and calling her names, mainly pointing a finger at her scar. It was disgusting, he had said while laughing. And then he had the bright idea of gathering ten of the hottest (roughly based on his own opinion) and drunken guys over to have a little fun.

Tidus and Riku had been two of those.

"Gentlemen, gather 'round! Today I have laid eyes on the most horrible sight ever, though it did not escape my amazing eyesight that said sight has an amazing piece of ass." Riku remembered how they had all laughed, because they all thought the same as Alex. He only joined in because he didn't want to start college by being a lame guy who couldn't joke around sometimes. At least that was what his drunken mind had thought up as his excuse. "So I thought we could have a little bit of fun with said piece of ass." He stood up and handed his drink over to Tidus, who placed it on the floor without a second glance. He had been that captivated by his new pal. "In my pocket I have two hundred munny for the guy who takes up my bet. So, who's gonna be the lucky guy to sweep her off her feet?"

"Wait, wait, wait. As in kiss, sex, or actual relationship and then dump her?"

Alex laughed out in triumph. "Man those are good choices! Let's keep it simple though. I don't think two hundred munny is enough to pay the guy who would actually dare to sleep with her!"

Riku had been angry by then, but he still couldn't drop out of it. Actually, now that he thought about it, he should have walked away to the bathroom when he had had a chance. He was already there, though, and by the looks of the guys that surrounded him, they all wanted to win that bet.

Sighing and sealing his future, he took a step forward. Alex immediately zeroed in on him and applauded. "Way to go, man! But before you go to her, here are the rules. One: You don't just kiss her, you make out with her. Two: grope the only fine part of her. Three: leave a hickey for good measure. Oh and before I forget, it must all be done in front of everyone. Oh, oh, better yet! Do it while dancing to the kinkiest song Tidus has over in his music arsenal! Do this and the money is all yours. Fail and you owe me triple. What do you say?"

Even though Riku was drunk he thought hard. To do this or not, that was the question. She was just a girl, after all, a human being with a beating heart. Was he about to hurt her, hurt someone just for pleasure? To his utter horror, his Darkness had woken up at the thought of hurting something. And because he was weak with alcohol, it took over his actions.

"Double it and I'll have her panting in less than five minutes."

Alex looked mad with glee. "You, my friend, have got yourself a deal!"

And so he walked over to her, after Tidus had chosen the song of course. When Riku gave the signal, he would play the song and the bet would begin. But before that he made small talk with her, complimenting her cute casual dress and apologizing for that first meeting over at the sports shop. Because she had spent time with Kairi, his reputation with her was in good standing. After all, Kai couldn't say anything bad about one of her best friends.

She had responded in kind, letting him know in other words that yes, she sort of liked him. And that was when he gave the signal. "Oh hey, I love this song! Would you, by any chance, like to dance?" _Please say no, please say no_, begged his light.

_Oh she'll say yes_, answered his darkness.

And yes she had said.

And so they danced, and in no time at all they were gyrating to the music in an almost sexual manner. True to his word, he had her panting in two and a half minutes after the song had started. And then… then came the moment where he turned her around and planted his lips over hers. It had been soft at first, but since he had a bet to win he took things rather quickly.

From tongues to moans, from gropes to frictions, he was actually starting to enjoy himself. Lost to his awakening lust he started kissing her neck with slow, deliberate movements. Then he bit her, hard. She moaned out loud and he darkly laughed, then he licked the injured spot, which made her tremble. He went back up to her lips and attacked again, until someone poked him on the ass. He turned around and growled, "No sharing, idiot."

"Oh ho ho! I see we're starting to enjoy ourselves! It's fine by me, buddy. Here, you won this fair and square!" He handed over the munny and then started to clap, all the while looking like a kid on Christmas day. Alicia had then put two and two together, ruining the remnants of his lust and bringing consciousness back with the slap she had given him.

What happened after that was a blur. Oh how he wished EVERY part of that night had been a blur, too, but it was as if she had secretly cursed him to never forget what he had done. His friends, when they found out, had been very mad and disappointed, but had eventually forgiven him. But since then he stopped going to any sort of parties and had dropped alcohol, for better and worse.

He'd tried to apologize on multiple occasions to Alicia, had even gone and handed Alex the munny back, but up 'till this day she hadn't forgiven him. Which was a sad thing to experience, but he totally deserved it, right? Even after all the time that had passed?

"Earth to asshole! Are you even listening to me?"

Goodbye, dear silence. "Sorry, what?

"Wow, you're deaf. Anyways, I need to go, now."

He stopped walking again. "Wait, what? I thought we were gonna get a head start on this! The faster the better, you said!"

"Yeah well, now I can't. So we'll start tomorrow, 'kay?"

He growled. "You are such a pain in the ass. Where you born that way?"

"No, I was made this way by fucktards like you, douche!"

She started walking away but he stopped her by getting on her way. "Geez, what has gotten into you today? First you insult my friends and now you're putting off our work for something else! Can you at least tell me what's more important than our homework?"

Her face went from anger to seriousness in a heartbeat. "It's none of your damn business. Now get out of the way so that I can go attend to my problems."

He was going to let her go because he so didn't want to argue anymore, but just then someone called out to him. "Yo Riku, hey, wait up!"

To his utter astonishment it was Alex, bane of both their existences. "Oh great," Alicia spat, "asshole number two just came to join the party. Woot! Now why don't we all just go hang out and have a wonderful time? That way, we can all get along and sing friendship songs, and have ice-ream together, and-"

Alex interrupted her. "Oh hey, baby doll, still mad about that one, huh?"

"Oh I dunno, am I?"

The blond laughed. "Wow, you're not that forgiving, are you? How long has it been anyways, a couple of months?"

Apparently Alicia didn't like where this conversation was headed, if her tone of voice was any indication. "A year and three months, ass. Yeah, I keep count. Now if you'll excuse me…" And with that she left, leaving a very angry and confused Riku with an overly excited Alex by his side.

A whistle was heard a couple of seconds later. "She still has a fine piece of ass, man."

Riku looked at him with contempt. "Why the hell are you here?"

Looking contrite he answered. "Ouch, man, that hurts. Okay, okay, don't punch me! I still can't get rid of the last bruise you left on me back at practice," this he said while touching his arm and said bruise. "Anyway, Sargent Rodriguez wants to meet up with the boys over at the bowling alley. He said something about having fun the right way, I dunno. All I care for is the free food! But I don't want to be lonely, so I came to get you. Now let's get going! And be happy, you're lucky I chose you as my partner in crime!"

"We're in the same program, you dolt!"

"Pft, nonsense, you're my partner and that's that. 'Sides, no one else wants to share the awesomeness that is me."

"I wonder why," Riku grumbled.

**oooOooo**

"Please, let her be okay, please…"Alicia prayed on her way to the bus stop.

While Riku had been distracted with whatever the hell he got distracted with, she'd received a phone call. Thinking it was Selphie she snapped as she'd done with Riku a couple of minutes ago, until they spoke. It had been from the hospital.

Her mother had been taken to the emergency center due to a severe case of fatigue. They had also found out that her lung cancer had spread to her spine, putting pressure on her spinal cord, which caused weakness in her legs and made walking difficult- no wonder she'd been doing so less and less every day. Alicia had to get there as soon as possible to consent her hospitalization, otherwise they couldn't commence with the treatment.

"Oh stupid bus, hurry the hell up!" It would've been faster if she'd taken a ride with Sora and Riku, but then she'd had to deal with Alex. She'd much rather deal with hyenas howling right at her ear than be around the idiot. And besides, dealing with one asshole was enough, thank you very much. "Geez, it was about time!" As she boarded the bus she couldn't help but curse every existing god that was out there, even though she had been praying not that long ago. "If you, if ANY of you take her away from me I swear I'll … I'll…" _Oh great, now I'm crying._

And through her anger shone the brightest light anyone had ever seen, because it was full of love and compassion for the woman who had been her mother all those years. She was the only one who had accepted her, who had given her a home back when she used to live in that horrible orphanage. Through time, she was the only one who understood her. And because of that, Alicia didn't want to lose the only person she loved. So she kept on praying to the gods, and kept on cursing them as well. Just as long as she got an answer, everything would be fine.

_I just hope that they listen to me this time. _

**oooOooo**

"Whoa, I'm stuffed!"

Riku laughed while his best friend rubbed his belly in a lazy fashion. He was stuffed too and he was glad about that. It was ten at night already and he was tired from the long day he'd had, so cooking was out of the picture.

While they exited the bowling alley, Sora chatted about his boring afternoon over at his work. "…And then Old lady Betsy just kept on babbling about how her cat had gotten into her dresser and peed all over her underwear. Man I was glad when she gave me the rest of the day off!"

Riku chuckled. "That's what you get for working at a library, Sor."

"Yeah, whatever busboy." Riku chose to respond to that comment by smacking Sora on the head. After a few seconds of cursing Riku to hell and back for ruining his perfect hair, Sora continued. "So, care to tell me why you invited me to one of your meetings with Sargent Rodriguez?"

"What, can't I invite my best friend over to hang out with me?"

"Dude, no offense, but you seem to forget I live when these type of things happen."

Well, shit. Apparently he'd learned to enjoy the military program a lot, so could anyone blame him? "Hmm… Well, you seem to forget my very existence whenever you're slobbering in a corner with Kairi."

As Sora choked on air, Riku chuckled in a sort of malicious manner. Oh how he loved to tease his friend. "Hey, that doesn't count! Besides, I'm perfectly sure that if you'd had a girlfriend too you would forget about me! Now don't dodge the question and tell me why you asked me to come here, geez."

Did he have no other option than to tell the truth? Oh well. "Look, Alex was there and he was driving me nuts about everything in general."

"Does that 'everything' include Alicia?"

Riku sighed. "Yes, it does. We … kinda had an encounter this morning after we left class and got separated from you guys. We both wanted a head start on the canvas thing just to get out of each other's way, you know?" Sora nodded and kept on listening. "Then she started arguing, things got out of control and out of nowhere appeared Alex. So, yeah, not that good of a day today and I was not about to end it with that douche."

"Who would? Ah, but I'm glad you did. Invite me, that is. Bowling? Pizza? Hadn't crossed my mind in a long time, bro."

"Yeah, 'cause spending time with Kairi kinda narrows your mind to the kinky stuff, if you catch my drift."

And that was how Riku ended up being chased by Sora to his car and getting a stomach ache.

While Sora drove, they kept on chatting about everything and anything they could talk about. Yeah they saw each other in that one class, but it was only on Fridays that they did, so hang out time was very limited. Not to mention that they both had jobs and different class schedules. Oh, and Sora DID have Kairi.

How that happened was a mystery to them all, especially to Riku. It was not a surprise that they ended together though, just that they did. He thought that, with Sora being as shy as he was and Kairi being the one making all the moves, she'd been the one to finally crack and ask him out. Then all of a sudden, Kai tells him that it was actually Sor who'd asked her out. When asked how, though, she would just clam up and blush. And ever since that day Riku would tease the living hell out of both of them. Seriously speaking, he was glad that they had each other and had finally moved on to another phase in their lives, but it sort of made him lonely sometimes to witness such love from afar and not have it for his own. Oh well, for now there was nothing that could be done. Well, he could keep teasing them. Or he could stop.

Na, it was way too much fun, so stop he would not.

"So, are you still hearing voices?"

Startled out of his thoughts, Riku just looked at his buddy with a sense of apprehension. "Wow, smooth topic change, Sor."

He just shrugged. "Eh, you know me. I blurt the first thing that comes to my mind. In and out, I always say!"

"You should seriously stop watching those movies, man. They're messing up your life, and your quotes," said an amused Riku.

"Pft, whatever, dude. So, you still hearing them?"

And here he thought his night would be so much better than what his day had been. "No, the voice stopped about a week ago, thank heaven for that." Actually, it hadn't stopped at all, but he really didn't want to talk about it. That mistake had happened after the fainting fiasco, when he had to explain to his friends the headaches he got near the girl and tell Sor the truth about his dream. That hadn't been his fault, as he'd so explained countless of times to his friend. A weird compulsion had taken over him that morning which made him sort of forget the real dream, and the headaches where there to block his memories up.

What had him confused was how he broke through the compulsion. The headaches were barely there anymore and he was grateful for that, but a sort of side effect came with it.

He could hear her clear as day talking to him _in his mind._

He'd told Sora about the first time he'd heard her outside of his dream and knew that it had to be Alicia talking to him. Except she sort of wasn't the one doing the talking. How could it be possible for someone to harbor a second person within their minds? Sora had said that it reminded him of Kairi with Namine, and of course himself with Roxas. Could it be that she had transformed into a heartless herself and in the process created a Nobody? It was a plausible explanation since Kai had once said that she had a strong heart. And Alicia and the voice did share the traits of a Nobody and its host.

What made that theory halt in its tracks was the fact that she had no knowledge of the voice inside her head. This he knew because every time she spoke to him he answered back, and the voice had acknowledged that Alicia could not, in fact, hear her. But the conversations between him and the voice only happened sometimes because they didn't exactly get along thanks to that stupid bet. Yeah, even the voice in her head was mad at him, proving that they –Alicia and the voice- at least shared the same feelings. Well wasn't that great.

He once took advantage of the situation as best as he could and he'd asked her a lot of questions, most of which went unanswered or she somehow didn't know. Something about not having grown up with her own customs in her natal world, she'd once mentioned. But she did manage to tell him some details, though.

_What is she?_ She is a Pacifier.

_What the hell is a Pacifier?_ You'll find out.

_Why doesn't she know?_ She's under a spell.

_If you're a different species, then you're supposed to have powers. Why don't you free her from that spell?_ Because my powers are trapped with the memories of whom she is.

_Oh great, that's good to know. Can't you find any way to help her?_ You were my best bet, that's why I contacted you through your dreams. But apparently you're as clueless as my host.

_I'll totally ignore that last comment. Don't you at least have a starting point, a clue that can tell us where to look for help?_ Well, she's not from this world. Was that helpful?

_You and Alicia are a pain in the ass, did you know that?_ So you've said many times since we met.

That was the extent of their conversations, not very helpful at all. He'd thought about asking Mickey for help about the whole ordeal, but the King had gone MIA since the message Sora got from him. In other words, he hadn't come to look for them as he'd said he would.

So they were at a loss, trying to live life as normal as possible without mentioning anything that had to do with that letter. Well, as normal a life as he could have anyway. Hearing voices in his head did not count as normal, and he knew it.

So he chose not to tell Sora the truth. Which he knew his friend didn't buy, but took it nonetheless. "That sucks."

"How come?"

"Well, she did give us a bit of information, but now I wanted to know why she called you what she did."

And that was another subject he wished to ignore. "You mean Stalker?"

"Yeah, that! Why in the world did she call you that? And is that related to anything about her? I wonder…"

Riki gave a deep sigh. Trust Sora to think about the weirdest thing Alicia's voice had spoken to him about. Couldn't his friend stop wondering for a moment? If anything, that word could be a term for 'Riku has a very, very, very bad mojo inside of him so we must name him something'. Because he didn't want to dwell on it anymore, he decided a change in topic was a good idea. It wasn't very smooth, either, but somehow he knew Sora would not comment on it as he had done. "So, why are you driving your mother's car? What happened to yours?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, about that…"

"Uh-oh, what have you done?"

"Er…," he sheepishly laughed. "You see, umm… Kairi and I, we-"

His 'too much information' alert started blaring the second he heard 'Kairi and I'. "Okay, stop it right there! I don't need to hear anymore. Just tell me what happened to the car."

"I crashed it against a tree? But nothing bad happened to it! It has a bent on the front, but that's it, I swear!"

Riku laughed so hard, he thought he was going to pass out of lack of oxygen. Wiping his tears of mirth away, he made sure he could speak again before asking, "And your mom let you borrow her car knowing that you crashed yours?"

"Well, at first she wouldn't let me, but then I sort of… bribed her."

"With what?! Wait, don't answer that." He seriously didn't want to know. "But wow, man, I never thought I'd see the day where you would turn into a very naughty boy."

Sora's face rapidly turned beet red. "Hey! Quit it, jackass!"

Oh this was SO much fun! He didn't even mind if he got the whole context of what had happened, so long as he got to see his friend blush more often. Riku was about to keep teasing him when Sora's phone started ringing. "Riku, can you get that?"

"Sure," he said as he flipped open the phone, cursing the caller's timing. "Hello?"

"Riku? Where the hell is Sora? Look, never mind, there's no time!"

"No time? Whoa, Selphie, what's happening? Is everything-?"

She interrupted. "No, everything's not alright! There's bl-blood everywhere and-"

"Blood?! Okay, what's going on?" Oh he did not like the sound of that. Neither did Sora. By that point he sped up and drove like a bat out of hell in hopes that they could reach wherever Selphie was faster. It was totally understandable; he would've done the same if he were driving.

"Look, I don't know what's going on! Just please, help me!" She sounded so desperate and helpless.

Riku started feeling nervous yet he couldn't help but ask, "Where are you?"

"I'm at Ali-!" She suddenly got cut off and all that he heard through the line was a lot of movement, followed by heavy breathing. Then someone else replaced Selphie, a male, if his hearing was correct. He started laughing too, the asshole.

Riku decided it was enough. "Look, whoever you are please, leave the girl be. She hasn't done anything to you."

The guy started chuckling again. "Oh, you're right. But the other one stays with me. She has, how did you put it? Done something to me?" Did he mean the other person that was bleeding out? Oh, dear lord, where could Selphie be?

He recognized that voice, but where had he heard it before? If only he could place it! Signaling Sora to drive faster, he kept on talking with the madman. "What is it that you want?"

"Oh, just something that you would understand, if you hadn't been tainted by the Light that's surrounding your heart..."

What was he going on-? Wait a minute. "How the hell do you know anything about me?"

"You're that easy to read, trust me." Suddenly, a deep wail could be heard over on the other line. Was that Selphie? He plastered Sora's phone as close to his ear as possible in order to decipher what was she trying to say. It vaguely sounded like…

"Sora! Drive straight to Alicia's house!"

"Right!"

Riku heard more movement, then silence. "What have you done to her?!"

A sigh. "It seems that your little friend here wants the girl to be saved. Well, that's too bad. I kinda need her for, you know, revenge and stuff? You mortals are always so funny, coming up with words like that."

"Who are you?!"

The guy laughed. "Come on, Riku! Can't you recognize your buddy?"

"You are no such thing. And for heaven's sake, stop with the games!"

"Oh, does wittle Wiku hate games? Well, guess what? I fucking _love_ these types of games. Especially games where lives are involved, and where one of the girls will give me what was taken from me back!"

_Shit, Sora, drive faster!_

"Ah, but I'll tell you one thing. That amazing ass will surely be missed."

Silence fell. Everything pieced together on Riku's head. There were only two words floating in his mind, and he decided to say them out loud.

"You motherfucker!"


	5. Chapter 4: The Lost Cause

***This chapter is dedicated to my first ever reviewer: tsukuneXmoka. You rock!  
**

**Chapter 4: The Lost Cause**

"Sora, drive faster, goddammit!"

"Shit, Riku, I'm going as fast as I can!"

"You need to go faster!"

"Oh my God, will you just chill?! I'm going eighty miles per hour here!"

He tried to calm down, he really did, but he just couldn't. One of his friends was in danger and the girl she held dear to her heart was hurt as well. They had to get them out of there! They had to save them from- "That motherfucking asshole!"

Sora drove out of the lane with Riku's sudden outburst, almost crashing against a palm tree- which would've been ironic and hilarious if it weren't for their whole situation. "Geez, man, don't scare me like that!"

"I'm sorry, okay? It's just..."

"I know, Riku, I know."

They finally, _finally _arrived at Alicia's house after ten minutes of being unable to do anything. He certainly felt those minutes like hours, but he wasn't about to say anything when they were already there. They got out of the car and Riku was about to kick down the front door when Sora stopped him. "What are you doing, Sor? We have to move, now!" He didn't say anything. He just summoned his keyblade and gave Riku a look that somehow said that he was dumb if he thought to go in there unarmed and unprepared. Nodding in understanding Riku summoned Way to Dawn and then proceeded to do what he originally wanted to.

"Alex! Where the hell are you?"

A low growl came as an answer but nothing appeared, no one showed up. Then they quietly moved as one in search for clues. They found it in the kitchen, directly in front of the patio doors. A small pool of blood could be seen from where they stood, and it trailed all the way to the garden.

"Shit, maybe he already-?"

"Sora, don't."

Riku was not about to hear it, he was not going to give up. And Sora was such a positive guy. Hearing him say something like that could damage his own weakening optimism.

Crouching near the blood he scanned it like he'd seen cops do on television shows, but that was only to calm his awakening nerves. There was just so much blood in that little puddle. It was very hard to discern where the girl had been hit or hurt. He looked up when the blood didn't give him answers and scanned the garden. There was no one to be seen out there, but he might as well take Sora with him and check it out.

A loud knock interrupted his debate. They both jumped a mile in the air but got their weapons ready nonetheless, making sure to keep quiet least they betray their positions.

Another knock. "Sora! Where are you? Selphie called, and I saw your car is parked out there and- Oh God!"

Why in the world had Selphie called Kairi for? Oh wait, yeah, he guessed she was looking for help wherever she could. She probably even thought that the more people she called the better.

Sora walked straight to her and comforted her under the circumstances, which meant he kept things short and sweet. "Get your keyblade out, we'll need all the help we can get."

"But Sor, I barely fight." They should have taught her to do so, that way she wouldn't be as defenseless as she actually was.

"It doesn't matter, Kai. As long as you hit them hard if they come at you, everything will be fine."

More noises were heard a couple of seconds later. "Kairi, is there someone else with you?"

"Um… well… I kinda called Wakka and he was with Tidus-"

"Guys, where the hell are you?!"

"If you'd like to actually shout, be my guest, Tidus!" If any more people showed up, he would snap. He was on edge and having his other friends here to protect was annoying him to no end. "Just keep quiet and follow us, alright?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Why do I even bother?" Sighed Riku.

He then turned his attention again to the blood and its trail. While Sora explained what he could on hushed tones, Riku followed the blood. The tension built oh so slowly as he followed it, and every image he had through it all were as bad as he felt.

As he finally reached the end he saw a couple of white rose bushes, all neatly taken care of and fully grown. Yet they were marred with tiny droplets of red, creating what he felt almost sure of a type of symbol. He knew it to be true when he saw what he did next.

Alicia lay sprawled in the middle, blood pouring from crisscrossed wounds on her arms, surrounded by the lovely white roses that were being tainted by her wounds. Riku stopped dead in his tracks. What in the world was going on in that bastard's mind? Did the creep have to get all poetic and shit? Dear lords above, what had he done?

"_Tenebris Aeterna."_

Riku heard him, heard his uttered words, but he was transfixed with the sight before him. How could he look away when she was… so…

"Beautiful, is it not? Only those with Darkness within their souls can understand such a message."

Riku felt compelled to talk to the guy instead of kicking his ass, for some reason. "How can it be possible to feel both disgust and want at the sight?"

Alex answered with contempt. "What you feel is simply a consequence of the path you chose to walk on, the most disgusting one of them all."

That got him out of his trance. Riku turned around and finally noticed that one, the guy was just a few inches away from his position and two, his friends where nowhere to be seen. He'd walked outside on his own without knowing it. "How…"

Alex chuckled. "It's called compelling, Riku. I lured you outside, away from your friends," he made a face when he said 'friends'. "They're kind of busy playing heroes at the moment. You know, fighting my spawns? Ah, how I love when people fall into my traps. It never gets old."

Riku went from passive to aggressive in no time at all. He slashed his Keyblade right at his target, yet he only found air in his path. Alex had somehow quickly moved two feet away from his attack. How in the world had he seen that coming?

"Ah, ah, ah! Riku, that was very naughty of you! But because I am SO happy right now, you don't get to suffer my wrath! Neat, huh?"

"Where are they?! Where's Selphie?"

"Oh, you mean the girl that interrupted me? She's being rescued by the little heroes from my allies! It's fantastic when you see people trying to fight their way through starving demons," Alex laughed.

Riku smirked. "Don't get too cocky, asshole. My friends know how to fight heartless and will beat them in no time!"

Alex lost his smile. Moving a step forward he slowly spoke as he where doing so with a child. "Dear Riku, why would you compare my allies with those weaklings? I am offended on their behalf. How can I make you see that they are not, in fact, what you think they are? Oh, I know! How about I just call them out?"

Riku got ready for anything coming his way. He would take on whatever Alex summoned, just as long as he got to save his friends. But his commitment halted when he actually saw them.

_No, it can't be, it just can't!_

_Are those the demons from my dream?!_

Riku felt numb. He couldn't believe what he was seeing; he never even thought they were actually real. His fear started to eat him alive, rendering him unable to fight.

Alex noticed his hesitation. "Something tells me you've seen them before, Wiku. Let me guess, did she show you? Oh wait, wait, wait! Did she also tell you what you are? Oh those are good news! Saves me a lot of trouble, actually."

"What are you going on about?" asked an incredulous Riku.

Alex clicked his tongue in disapproval and shook his head. "My, my, I see you're still in denial. Oh _herus,_ but you are stubborn! Tell you what: while I tell you a small story you can fight my spawns! Deal? Awesome!"

Giving Riku no chance at all the things attacked, and because he was taken by surprise and he still felt numb, some of them got a hit on him. Then he started fighting back, because his goddam fear was not about to hold him down or get him killed.

He crouched low and swept around his Keyblade, hitting the closest demon on its hind legs, making it bleed and howl in agony. Riku then stood and slashed at his neck, beheading the thing and ending its life. But soon another took its place, and Riku had to quickly dodge its long claws. He was not going to lose his heart to those things. Pacing around he decided to call upon his own dark powers and blasted the demon apart with his Dark Aura, which rebounded and attacked some of the others as well. Yet he didn't notice the one behind him, racking its claws and leaving deep bleeding gashes on his back. He cried out and fell on his knees.

"My _daemons,_ that's enough."

The things suddenly stopped. They crawled to where Alex had been perched during the fight and stayed by his side, purring like cats would when they were stroked.

"Do you see now, Riku? These aren't like those little pests you're used to fighting. They're stronger than that. Isn't that right, darlings?" The demons all growled in return. "That's right. Now, go and fend the others. I fear some of your brothers are dead and need to be replaced."

As portals formed beneath their legs and they left, Alex knelt next to Riku. "Hmm… That looks like it hurts. Anyways, I did say I was going to tell you a story, but I got sidetracked watching you fight. You're very good, but you still have a long way to go." He sat down as if he had no other worries in his plate and began his tale.

"Long, long ago, we used to rule the worlds. Before we were eternally trapped in our underworld, Lethaeis, Darkness covered each and every one, and we were all happy. But that changed one day when the Maker decided to kick out of his perfect world the ones who had no sides in the rebellion. He felt pity for them, though, and decided to create a world unlike any other: Eterna.

"Full of light and wonders, Eterna was populated by the ones that called themselves Pacifiers. We left them be, because we certainly didn't want to trifle with the Light. Not after we sought and found a way to escape from our damnation. Just as long as we had what was ours, it was alright.

"But because some of them wanted to favor The Maker and get on his good graces again, they decided to get rid of us. So, they created what you know today as Keyblades. Made out of the purest of lights, these weapons would choose a heart whose strength was unlike any other. And destroying Darkness became its "motto". Our freedoms were stripped away, our powers broken in half, and our life spans were shortened. We never trifled with them, but they did with us. And we got angry, and we gathered our people, and we attacked that wretched world.

"One by one they started to fall, piece by piece the world started to die. We even released Dark Matter into their rivers and lakes and it instantly mutated everything, destroying their little prides and joys. But then their king got an idea, and acted upon it.

"And so he closed the world with a special gate that could only be opened with a special key, trapping almost each and every one of my comrades in it, along with the only remaining Pacifiers.

"That happened one thousand years before the famous keyblade war. And I was one of the escapees."

In between the pain Riku had heard it all, had told himself to memorize all of the little things that came out of Alex's mouth. His words could be useful to the king, and to the girl. But there was just so much that confused him, so much that he still needed to understand. And if his calculations were correct, then Alex should be dead by now. Riku asked this out loud in between gasps, and Alex just smiled.

"Xehanort was not the only one who could take over someone else's body."

Just then his friends came running along with Selphie, who was walking with Wakka's help but otherwise seemed fine. They stopped short of reaching him though because Alex called upon more of his _daemons_, making it almost impossible to help him or Alicia.

"Haven't you wondered why your darkness has woken up all of a sudden? Can't you guess who is responsible for such an act?" He then pointed a finger at the girl lying on the ground. "The light within her is so powerful that it could bring any of us who aren't human to their knees. Because your powers have yet to bloom, you felt some… side effects. Headaches, maybe? Fainting? Oh don't feel embarrassed! It's much worse for us."

He then stroked his hand through Riku's hair, tainting his silver locks with his own blood after having touched his wounds. "You could do so much more and have so much power, if you just gave in to your own nature. You are a half-breed, Riku, you belong with us. The few that escaped Eterna are now gaining strength, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop us from annihilating the Light and setting things to how they once were.

"And she is the key to it all."

Riku had never felt so confused in his life. He also didn't like where things were going. Did he really have to choose his old path again? He thought he'd understood everything there was to understand! He thought he'd learned his lesson all that time ago! Why did life insist on such sacrifices from him over and over? Let someone else make them for a change! He'd already done what was asked of him, so why…?

His friends looked expectantly at him. They probably thought he was stronger than Alex and that he could win no matter what. But they hadn't felt his powers. They hadn't noticed that his demons surrounded the place. He was not about to make them fight more of those things, he was not going to lose them no matter what.

He took a deep breath, cast a Curaga spell on himself with the little bit of mana he'd been able to gather, and slowly stood up. He couldn't believe what he was about to do, but it was either his most beloved friends, or him and the girl. And frankly, he decided to take his chances with the latter. "Very well, I will. But you must promise me that no harm will come to them."

"I have no use for any of them, so why would I do that?" Alex grinned. He levitated Alicia's body from the ground and made it float to where he was. Then he opened up a dark portal and addressed the gathered crowd. "I will leave now and no more harm will come to you, as requested by my young friend. But he will be accompanying me in my journey not as one of you, but as one of us. He is Darkness's child, and forever will remain one of its beloved."

"He belongs to the Light!" Sora indignantly shouted. "And he will always be a part of us!"

_Sora, I'm so sorry. But I must do this, I can't let him hurt you, or leave the girl behind. It's simply not in my nature._

Alex, for his part, found Sora's words laughable. "Oh you'll see, you all will once I'm done with him. Goodbye, for now." And he stepped through the portal without another word, Riku following close behind.

"Riku! Riku, please, reconsider!"

"Riku, don't go!"

"Riku! RIKU!"

And as much as they shouted, as much as they said, he never turned around, never answered them back. He simply strode along with his head held high, letting darkness engulf his heart once more.

**oooOooo**

He had lost count on how long he'd been in this shadow of a world. He didn't even know what was going on anywhere at all.

He'd thought it would be easier to handle Alex in his own home base, yet everything he'd tried so far had miserably failed. Alex had noticed his every move, had somehow read his intentions of saving the girl. And so he'd imprisoned Riku in one of his experimentations rooms, which was constantly guarded by his demons, and had a dark barrier on the door, making his intentions to escape impossible.

As punishment he'd said that Riku's powers were going to be awakened sooner than anticipated, because if he had Darkness within him he'd forget his good intentions towards the girl and help Alex on his goal. Though in order to do that, Riku had to inject powerful doses of Dark Matter into his blood system.

"Dark Matter," Alex had explained when strapping him into a metal chair, "comes from the veins of the only tree standing in our world and the lava pouring from the bottommost mountain. When our _herus_ mixed them both for the first time, they created small rock formations that now grow all over Lethaeis. These rocks are used in a lot of potion mixtures, and sometimes even by themselves. It will now be useful to awaken you.

"But because Darkness and Light act differently in each person, I needed to find something more to drive out your Light and make your Darkness permanent. We do want to awaken your true powers, after all."

He then showed Riku the first stages of the Dark Matter. He'd already melted the tiny rock in a golden cauldron, so the only thing needed was the extra ingredient to 'pump things up'. Alex took out of a small cabinet two containers, one with silvery oil and the other with a dark one, setting them next to the golden cauldron.

Riku thought he'd seen those before. Oh fuck, yes he had. Dear heavens above, Alex was getting their blood inside of him?!

"You know what these are, right? Well just in case, this is Nobody blood, while this is Heartless blood. Between experiments I've done, and through all the failures achieved, I finally figured out the only thing that could keep these two working together.

"The two, when mixed, created an anti-aura that ate away the Light, sort of like their original forms. But because they were never meant to be together, they always exploded and dissipated, never even coming back to the substance that they once were. But then I added in a bit of Dark Matter. And voila, it now works like a charm!"

Alex had said that he'd done this before, to someone he once thought of as his apprentice back when the human had still been young. "It was a wonderful process to witness," he'd said, "even though it was a bit different back then. Nobodies had yet to exist, after all."

Then he bound Riku's left arm on the chair and proceeded to mix in everything together. And while he worked on the cauldron, Riku asked whatever he could. He wanted to add more information into his brain, that way he could share it with either King Mickey or Master Yen Sid, if he ever escaped from Lethaeis.

And it also played well that he was asking about his apparent past. Alex enjoyed giving him these sorts of lessons on Stalker history. "How come you knew what I was?"

"I sensed it when I first saw you. I would've done so ever since I stepped foot on Destiny Islands but you also had Light within you. It hid your Darkness away."

"And why is it that this is all happening now?"

"Because someone decided to hide the half-angel by means of a spell and made it difficult for me to find her. Then I got trapped in this world for some time by that wretched witch called Maleficent because she, too, had once been searching for the girl. How wrong she had been to think she would find her first!" At this he laughed. "But for some reason she forgot about me and I managed to break her spell. So, here I am."

Maleficent?! What did she have to do with any of this? And here he thought things were already bad. He was about to ask something concerning her, when something else popped up in his mind. "How did I end up with these powers?"

Alex hummed. "Well, unlike half-bloods, which are created when a Stalker mates a human, you're a half-breed, which means you only inherited someone else's powers. He or she accidentally split their powers in half and gifted them to you."

"Accidentally?"

Alex smirked. "Yes. No Stalker would willingly give up half of their powers. The person either didn't know what they were doing, or their Stalker nature never woke up."

Who could have given him the powers to become a monstrosity without his knowledge? With what purpose had they done it? He never asked for it! He never even wanted dark powers in the first place! He didn't say this out loud, though. He still wanted to fool Alex, and he was going to do it the right way this time.

"But now I'm curious. Who could've done such an atrocity? Not that I care, it wasn't me giving away my powers. So, wish to explain, half-breed?"

That was what he wanted to figure out, dammit! His memories were so fuzzy and hazy that nothing made sense to him. And with the situation he was currently in, his mind blocked in every memory that was related to his past. "I… can't really say. There's just so much going on, and-"

Alex stopped his speech by placing a finger on his lips. "No worries, Riku. I can help joggle your memories. Just stay put while I go look for it." As if he could go anywhere.

Alex searched in one of the white shelves near the golden cauldron and took out a pink concoction. It looked rather tasteful, but when he walked back and made Riku swallow the whole thing, he found out that it tasted rather bad. Alex smiled and sat down next to him while Riku coughed and hacked. "Wasn't that delicious? I made it myself!" He wanted to slap the guy so hard his hand ached with the desire to do so. "Now, this potion will help you see your most veiled memories, the ones buried deep inside your mind, for some strange reason. And we'll be able to finally know who gave you these powers. It'll take effect in in three, two…"

Oh yes, it definitely took effect at that last second. The potion jolted his brain, and after the initial bit of pain, it cleared up his most recent memories and let him see those hidden inside, sort of like a doorway being opened at the end of a hall.

He saw himself with Sora and Kairi building the raft; he then saw them playing years before that over at Sora's house; the day they first met Kairi, confirming Riku's suspicions that other worlds did, in fact, exist; and then he saw only Sora and himself running around the beach at Play Island. His memories did a sudden halt on that specific memory, and he saw something that he thought he'd never forget, but somehow did.

A stranger had met him that afternoon, a tall man with brown hair. He had said some words and Riku had followed suit, because he had promised that Riku could one day protect what mattered most with the weapon that he held.

The potion wore off right after that, and because he felt rather dizzy he almost forgot all about the memory again. But he shook off the after effects and said out loud what he had seen, letting Alex know that he had found his answer, to which he responded in a not so good way. He quickly stood up and started pacing around the small room, all the while muttering under his breath things that Riku did not understand.

"No wonder Xehanort thought something was missing when he invaded that body!" He burst out saying. "That young man passed down his Stalker powers along with the ability to wield that wretched weapon to you! Wow, talk about ironic!"

And there he went mentioning Xehanort again. What was their connection? How and when did they meet each other? He was about to ask how was it that Alex knew him, but again he got distracted by another question, making him forget, for the moment, that Xehanort even existed. "If the Keyblades were made by your enemies, how come Terra could wield it having Stalker powers?"

Here Alex stopped pacing. He sat down next to Riku and, after giving him a searing stare, forcefully grabbed his chin. "Because a Pacifier thought it a good idea to mate with one of us, intercrossing both of our powers and creating the most horrible path known to anyone and anything that exists in the worlds: Twilight.

"You should have never accepted his gift, young one. It's an _abominamentum_. If our _herus_ still lived, he would have killed you and that _bestia_ a long time ago."

"The Keyblade is not an abomination."

Why had that slipped out of his mouth? He was trying to be evil here, to make the guy believe that he wanted to be a part of his colony. However, it was too late to retract his words. Alex slapped him without mercy, leaving a bloody gash on his cheek that he made with the ring he wore. He grabbed his chin again and closed the distance between their faces, their breaths mingling in the little space that remained between them. "The keyblade belongs to them. Anything that comes from that world is a disgrace to our kind, _frater_. You'll do well to remember that." And as he stopped talking, Alex injected the Dark Matter into Riku's body, taking him by surprise.

It instantly kicked in, and he started shaking and convulsing without warning. He couldn't hear anything, he could only see darkness, and pain was his best friend for the next moments.

He felt everything within himself alter, felt the Dark Matter shifting inside of him. It took his insides and bonded with every part in his body, made them bow to its will. He fought against his bonds when it started attacking his heart, leaving deep marks on his wrists and ankles from his desperation.

For a moment he thought his heart could withstand the darkness coming from every vein inside of him. But then it hit him: Darkness was about to eat his Light away, something not even the strongest of hearts could withhold.

He cried out loud.

The Dark Matter casted away his only forte, leaving his heart a broken mess.

And just like that, he walked Twilight's path no more.

All the mistakes he had made, all of the hard work he'd done to redeem himself had vanished in a single moment in time. His Light would never come back, he was sure of it. And he shouted, because it was not fair, because he deserved so much more than this.

_It's all for the girl, it's all for her…_ he kept repeating over and over. It became his mantra through it all, because she, at least, was reason enough to power through the storm.

As he faced the last remnants of the change inside his heart, he felt Alex standing nearby with his newly awakened senses. He had been holding Riku's hand, and was wiping away the tears Riku had apparently shed through it all. When he found out he could speak he did so, but because his throat felt so raw he took it easy on himself. "I feel… different."

Alex laughed. "Of course you do, silly. You are now what you were meant to be ever since you inherited those powers." He then placed a kiss on his forehead. "_Tenebris Aeterna, frater_. May your new path be full of conquests and power, and may our _herus_ bless you." He let go of him. "Now rest, we have a long week ahead of us and you'll need all of your strength." And before he left, he turned around and said, "You're doing the right thing, _frater_. You'll soon see that this is your real destiny."

He wanted the torture to _end_.

"Welcome home, Riku."

But it had only just begun.

_**~Chapter End~**_

**Author's Note:** Hello guys! How are you? Hope your week has been splendid so far!

I know this chapter was supposed to be posted two days ago, but I got a minor writer's block and got frustrated with myself. So after taking a breather I finally finished it and am now posting it.

Now, remember how I said that I'd be mixing in the canon story line with my own? Yeah, if you don't like it, then that's your bad. For those of you who do, and are enjoying this story so far, thank you! I'll be making the best of it without mucking anything up.

Also, you might have noticed some strange words in the story, but I assure you that they exist. It's Latin, and it's my first time using it. So if you know the language and think I've made some mistakes, forgive me. I did try my best, but sometimes Google Translate can be a bit of a nuisance.

And this chapter is meant to confuse you with some things (*coughcough*Xehanort, Maleficent*cough*) so no answers will be given away until those actual chapters come out. But if anything else makes no sense to you, please don't hesitate in asking! I really want you to understand everything that I'm writing.

Thank you for giving my story a chance!

**And as always, feedback is greatly appreciated!**

Latin Translations:

_Tenebris Aeterna_ = Darkness Eternal

_Herus_ = Lord

_Daemons_ = Demons

_Abominamentum_ = Abomination

_Bestia_ = Beast

_Frater_ = Brother


	6. Chapter 5: Once Upon A Nightmare

***This chapter has been posted without been proofread by another person.***

**A/N:**Hello, my darlings, how are you? I hope you're doing well. : )

Concerning this chapter, I must make a warning for it. It has a bit of torture but it's not that descriptive. I tried to make it as vague as possible, I even wanted to write it differently, but then this happened. So if that's not your cup of tea, you have been graciously warned.

However, in order to understand what's going on you'll probably have to read it. And for that I am sorry, but the show must go on.

And for those of you who might be wondering, "Hey, where's King Mickey?" I assure you that his disappearance is tied up with the plot, so don't you worry about that.

**Latin words used in this story are as follow:**

_Frater_ = Brother

_Gratias_ = Thank you

_Herus_ = Lord 

_Daemons_ = Demons

Now, let the reading commence! **And as always, feedback is greatly appreciated!**

**Chapter 5: Once Upon A Nightmare**

Riku woke up to the sounds of her screams. So, Alex had proceeded with the experiment without telling him a thing about it. Oh he had some idea about what it was, but he wanted to be there just in case he overstepped some boundary. Getting out of the bed and putting on his pajama pants, he hurriedly walked to the main chamber where the experiments were being conducted. He wasn't about to let the girl die out on him and leaving Alex alone with her might set his anger loose, putting her in great risk.

The door at the end of the hallway had been left open and in he went, seeing the image that had been burned into his mind a while ago. Alicia had been strapped spread-eagle onto what looked like a cross, her hands and feet tied with metal chains that bound her to it. "To symbolize the death of the Maker's son," had been Alex's answer when Riku had asked about it. She was also naked, something that Riku still couldn't quite assimilate in his mind. She was so beautiful, wonderfully so. He couldn't help but tread on that territory when he saw her like that. Yet her beauty had been marred by the wounds that marked her lovely body, by the things that they constantly put her through.

"No, no, NO! This isn't right!" Alex turned around on the spot after stopping the machine and started walking back and forth, clearly frustrated with the whole situation. "I just can't understand! What the HELL have I been doing wrong?!"

Riku crossed his arms and leaned against the wall near the door, listening to both Alex's rant and her painful cries. He looked back and forth between the two, trying to decide whether he should either help the girl out or calm Alex down.

He chose the latter. "What did you do to her this time?"

Alex immediately stopped when he heard his voice and walked over to him. Riku felt no fear, though. His behavior was already predictable, something he'd come to understand the moment he met him. "Where were you?"

Riku snorted. "I was sleeping, something you commanded me to do, _frater_." Oh yeah, he now knew their language thanks to another one of Alex's potion. He wanted Riku to become a perfect Stalker, and he would use any methods to achieve this. Or so he'd said.

"Don't sass me, Riku, not now. I'm this close to losing my patience and it will not be good for you if I do."

Huh, so Alex still had yet to find an answer to his little dilemma. Riku again asked his first question and the guy finally answered him. "I'm trying to raise the limit on her mana, that way she'll probably spawn her wings, breaking the spell in the process. But so far all it's done is bounce against the barrier she has!"

"Then why was she screaming, if it did nothing to her?"

"The barrier only protects her magic, you idiot, not her body."

"Hmm…" Riku then stared at her. Man, she looked so weak, so distraught. Alicia was quietly sobbing, too, making his insides squirm for what felt like the first time. Ever since his transformation, his feelings had taken a backseat within him because if he gave into them he was sure to fall into madness, and every progress he'd had so far would surely fail.

He was still going to rescue her, damn the consequences, preferably before the spell broke.

But he still had one problem. How to distract Alex and make him forget about Alicia for the time being? Riku had already gained his trust, something that seemed impossible to achieve at first but then had earned thanks to his actions at being a pliant servant to his master. So now all he had to do was think of a good strategy.

Alex interrupted his thoughts by pulling his arm and leading him to the middle of the room where Alicia was. "Maybe there's something missing," he said while letting go of him and taking a seat behind the machine. "There must be a way that can make her magic react and awaken!" He went through some documents that Riku had yet to know about, because even if Alex did trust him he still held back on some stuff.

An idea suddenly struck him. Riku sat down on the floor next to him and said, "Hey, what if I help you with those?"

Alex stared at him. "You will not be touching these."

"Oh don't give me that! What if you've missed something that's written there? What if I can make a difference?" Alex looked thoughtful. That meant he was actually considering it! "It's how the saying goes: two heads are better than one."

It took Alex a long time to make his decision and when he did, Riku's hope lifted. He was about to find a way to make his plans work, finally. And whatever he found on those documents could be helpful to his cause.

Alex handed him half of the papers, which were written in Latin. "Now, you'll want to read where it starts talking about a Pacifier's wings. Their mana originates from them."

And so Riku read, and he found out things that were quite horrifying in their tale, and very disturbing. At first he thought it was a lullaby because of the way it was written, but then he started to decipher the little meanings hidden here and there. This was not a lullaby, it was a ritual created by his now ancestors! It described how one had to deplete a half-angel of its mana, of its natural life span, and convert those things into immortality. Alex had only told him that the only thing they needed to do to her was release her from the spell that bound her magical powers! He hadn't mentioned anything about this! _'Oh my… Is Alex really going through with this? _Riku thought._ Is he seriously going to- No, no he won't, not if I have any say in it!'_

He looked at Alicia, stared right at her face, and started to unconsciously will for her to look back. She miraculously did, and as soon as they made eye contact he spoke to her in her mind for the first time in a long time. "_No matter what it takes, I'll get you out of here. I promise."_

She just stared at him as if he'd lost his mind. But when he repeated his vow she nodded in acknowledgement. "_Gratias__, Riku._"

"_Don't thank me yet, little one_." He then stood up and handed Alex his documents back.

"So, did you find anything useful, _frater_?"

Riku stood still for a few moments, wondering what to tell him. Did Alex know about the ritual? Was he going to proceed if he did? And should Riku ask him these questions out loud? What if Alex was clueless to the whole thing and Riku somehow spoiled everything? Could he handle the blame if anything went awry? So much questions to be asked, yet there wasn't much time to dwell on them. So he decided to mask the fact that he knew something was up by asking, "Is this some kind of Stalker children story?"

Alex looked at him while laughing. "Oh, you amuse me so! I don't know what part of that document made you think about children, what with all the bloodshed that's been written there." He chuckled again. "That's actually a ritual, Riku, one that's needed to complete the transaction between your little friend over there and myself." He then stood up and slowly walked around Riku, like a predator stalking its prey. There was something in the way he walked that sort of made him feel trapped, made him feel like…

"There's a reason why I gave you those precise documents, Riku."

Shit, he knew, he fucking knew! How did he?!

When Alex laughed this time there was no mirth behind it or his words. "Little one? Oh my, Riku, there are better pet names than that!" He'd heard that? How?! Alex smirked. "I am the same as you, and she is, after all, something that we once were as well. We all keep the same powers, _frater. _We can all hear each other in our heads." He gave him a sadistic smile. "Now I must ask you something, because this just baffles me. What is it about her that makes you want to rescue her? Don't tell me you're attracted to her!" Riku didn't answer, because he had none. "Oh you are, you are! Oh wait, let me guess! Is it her luscious body?" This he said while pointing straight at her. "Is it her wonderful aroma, her sweet scent?" He took a deep breath. "She does smell pretty nice, doesn't she?" He then stood right in front of him, all of his apparent playfulness replaced by something more intimidating. "Or is it her Light that draws you to her?" He then grabbed Riku by the neck without any preamble and slammed him against the controls of the machine. "Do you take me for a fool, Riku? I know what your intentions are. I know you've been planning on rescuing her this whole time. I thought that by transforming you all of your own Light would disappear, that all of your noble intentions would go away. But I apparently made a huge mistake." He pressed against his throat, crushing his windpipe and making his ability to breathe scarce. Riku tried to fight, tried to snatch Alex's hands away from him, but all he could manage were light scratches on their surface. "She will not escape, not after all of the hard work I've been through! I will avenge the one I cared for! I will have my immortality back! And no weakling like you will intervene!"

Alex threw him harshly on the ground and Riku hacked while he tried to take deep gulps of fresh air. "You pathetic scum. Why did I ever think to awaken you? You have no right being one of us."

Riku managed to stand up, managed to stare straight at his captor once he felt he could normally breathe. His throat still felt a little raspy, but words were not needed right at that moment. He knew that what he was about to do was going to put her in risk, but he had to try, dammit! He had said that he would get her out of here and he was not about to break another promise!

He summoned his Keyblade. He stared right at Alex's eyes. He unknowingly challenged him into battle with his stance, with his weapon. Alex bared his teeth and accepted the fight the way a Stalker would. "May our _herus_ guide our destiny in this fight, _frater_." He launched himself at Riku, outstretched hands sending a cold blast of a dark substance unknown to him.

_Shit, I should've learned how to fight with these new powers,_ was all Riku could think of as he started to defend himself with his own blade. He dashed back and forth, evading Alex's dark powers as much as he could. He already had a gash on one of his pecks- _now I regret not having a shirt on-_ and he didn't want to add another wound to his collection. Riku then got down on one knee and outstretched his leg, doing a sweep with it in hopes to make Alex trip. He somehow succeeded and as soon as he stood up again he started attacking him.

Riku slashed his Keyblade left and right, trying to stagger Alex more. He then released a Dark Blast that collided against Alex's skin, barely leaving a mark on it. Riku cursed but he tried his move again, this time with the addition of a few slashes of his blade. Alex howled in pain and Riku then realized that Dark powers did nothing against him, but his Keyblade did. He forgot about his powers for the time being and just slashed away with all he had, with every move he'd learned from his past. Alex received a few more hits, blood pouring from several wounds on his chest and arms.

Alex then screamed out loud and just rushed in, crazily taking his Keyblade between his palms. Riku swore. He struggled with Alex for a few moments, unable to attack for the time being. And if he chose to release a bit of his own dark power just to distract him, he might probably heal the guy. So he kept on struggling, trying to make his Keyblade move from side to side in order for him to damage Alex's hands more than what they already were. They were slick enough with blood that he might probably let go soon enough.

"I will not… be killed by this… wretched thing!" Alex said between gritted teeth. He then started to chant in Latin a spell unknown to Riku and for some reason it made him look at his blade. What he saw made him tremble in fear. His Keyblade was slowly cracking in the middle! Riku got desperate and tried to pull his blade back, but Alex had a firm grip on it. Riku couldn't let his precious weapon break just like that! _Whoever hears this prayer please! I beg you to help me!_

Riku didn't know who answered him, or why for that matter, but as soon as he'd said that a strange beam of white light surrounded his Keyblade, making it whole once more. Riku breathed a small sigh of relief while Alex again howled in pain. He released the blade, finally, and he fell down on his knees, giving Riku ample time to take care of him.

But he never saw it coming.

Alex disappeared in a dark mist and before he knew it, he appeared right at his back, taking hold of his arms and breaking his right wrist with a twist of his own. Riku screamed and released his Keyblade, making it clatter noisily on the floor. "I told you I was not about to die by that wretched thing." He then apparently summoned a knife and placed its cutting edge right at his throat. "I think I found out a way to break the spell, _frater_." He then used a gravity spell to carry his Way to Dawn with them, approaching Alicia's cross. "And you will be the lucky one to break it."

As they stood in front of her he pried open his eyes, tears of pain falling without his permission from them. He stared at her, and all he could do was to beg for her forgiveness, because not only had he done bad by her, he'd failed his promise to her, shortly after making it, too.

She was crying, for some strange reason. Was she still in pain? Did she still feel the effects of Alex's recent experiment?

"Riku…"she whispered.

Alex cooed right in his ear. "Oh look, your little one is crying for you!" Alex then sent a blast of his dark substance straight at her, making her cry out. "That is what you get for meddling in our fight, you stupid girl." She did what?

"_I tried, Riku, your Keyblade was crying and it begged me and-_"

Another blast was sent her way. "Shut up, will you? I can hear everything you talk about, so quit with the telepathy bullshit or so help me, I will kill you both right this instance."

Alicia did… what? She could heal Keyblades? She was actually giving them human characteristics? What… His thoughts were cut short when Alex suddenly pressed on his wounded wrist, making him shout. "Pay attention, dear Riku. You've been spacing out and I can't have that." His Keyblade floated closer to him. "See this? In our fight I finally realized what it was that I was doing wrong. _What locks away a part of you can unlock even the strongest of things_, or so their saying goes. The Pacifiers think themselves clever but I assure you, I am more than that," he said while still pressing on Riku's wrist. "What I want you to do is point it straight at her chest, nothing more nothing less." _But that will… _"Touch her heart? Why yes, yes it would. That's where the spell took residence and I want it gone."

"I… will do no… such… thing," Riku said in between gasps of pain.

Alex just laughed and mocked his words. "Meh, meh, meh. You will do it, Riku, or you will lose your precious life right this instance, right in front of her. You know, to scar her for what's left of her life, just in case you decide to throw your own away because it's not as important as saving another soul to you."

This could not be happening. He was not going to bring out what he sought to protect the most just so that Alex could sabotage her for his own gain! He just couldn't! But then again, if he didn't do so he could… Shit, he had no other option, did he? Alex gave him no chance to decide, either. He just made his Keybalde appear right next to his left arm, telling him to pick it up and do as he said. Riku kept on denying him his wish, trying as much as he could to stall the moment. "Keep refusing me, Riku, and you'll make it worse." To show that he was serious, he pressed the tip of the knife harder against his neck, drops of blood freely falling down his chest. "Do. It. NOW!"

Riku automatically grabbed his Keyblade and hid his feelings behind his walls, making sure not to break down right in front of his enemy. He then pointed it straight at her heart and as a beam of light started to emerge from it, he whispered two words, words he'd never utter with such sincerity before in his life. "Forgive me."

The beam struck. And as it did, a beautiful, haunting melody escaped from her, accompanied by her own potent aura. Riku swore he started seeing rainbows, started smelling the scent of roses in the air, but then his senses were dulled when her Light grew exponentially larger, bringing his captor, and himself, to their knees.

An unlocking noise was heard. And as it resounded throughout the entire room, the girl started singing, as if she had no cares or worries in the world. Her song was one of deep sorrow and pain, though, being masterfully camouflaged behind her sweet music. Her cries started growing louder and louder, until a shrill escaped her lips, making Riku cringe in utter despair at what she might be going through.

The Light all around them started picking up its pace and as it grew, he swore he felt it caress his skin, welcoming him with open arms as a mother would her adoring child. He felt the sudden urge to cry, to release all of his pain in that one moment, but then it all suddenly ended, the Light that had manifested all around them reentering its master without any warnings at all. He then opened his eyes and saw the last remnants of it go into her, creating a permanent halo all around her. It all looked so beautiful, so majestic, that he couldn't believe what happened next.

Riku heard the sound of ripping, and he thought he heard wrong until Alicia confirmed his suspicions when she screamed in utter agony. He kept on looking at her as her flesh gave way to accommodate her two new acquisitions, blood freely pouring from her back and onto the floor. She fought against her bonds, her body fighting against the intrusion, against the pain, but she could do nothing, they both were powerless to do so. And he cried along with her, and he kept on asking, pleading, for her forgiveness. He wanted to make it all better, he wanted to take her place if he could, but his petty wishes were asked to late to stop this madness from happening.

He thought he even heard bones snapping here and there, and it made him sick, made him want to throw up in utter horror. He couldn't stand this anymore, he couldn't take it! He had to look away!

"Ah, ah, ah, Riku!" Alex grabbed his chin with his unoccupied hand and turned his head around. "You'll be witnessing her transformation until the very end."

And so he did. And so he saw the most haunting image up to date.

She had wings, for crying out loud. They were transparent and shaped like those of a butterfly, and they were beautiful, in a sort of odd way. Yet they looked so fragile, they could break in a literal snap, just like her.

Alex stood up when everything was over and started chanting to his god. He danced, he thanked, he prayed, while Riku damned him and his stupid plans to his personal hell. Riku stayed kneeling on the ground, stayed quiet during the whole thing, while he watched her in quiet astonishment, in quiet pain. She wasn't moving and she'd stopped screaming a while ago, and her breaths were choppy and her head hung loose on her shoulder.

Alex turned around and went straight to him, raising him up and hugging him. Riku had a 'what the hell' moment, especially when Alex started caressing his hair as if he'd done a job well done. Alex probably saw it as that, too. "Oh my, _frater_, we finally did it! Thank _herus_!" He let go of him and started cheering once more, while Riku stared at him in utter confusion. Alex looked at him, then. "Well, what are you waiting for? We must celebrate!"

Riku stood still while his anger took hold of his heart. "You just tried to kill me. Why would I join you?"

Alex just laughed and kept on dancing. "Fine, suit yourself! My _daemons_, take him away and chain him to the cell." As the spawns appeared and took hold of Riku, Alex chuckled some more. "When you're done with this scum, return to me. We must find a sacrifice for the ritual, my loves!"

He tried to break loose of their grip, but suddenly he couldn't move, couldn't even speak. "You're not going anywhere this time, Ri-ku." And so he was carried to he didn't know where.

And so he took his last glance at a tortured girl who was soon going to die.

**oooOooo**

Riku felt as if an eternity had passed in his prison cell ever since he felt the presence of Alex disappear. Though in reality it had only been a few hours. He sat near the bars but he didn't actually touch them because they had a spell on them that drained him of what little energy he had left. He'd found out about it when the spell keeping him prisoner had lifted and he'd banged against the bars and kept on screaming the girl's name.

His heart felt so, so torn, and he didn't know what to do with himself. Should he cry himself to sleep? Throw a pity party with his own self? Bang against the prison bars until he passed out? He wanted to do something, anything, so long as it made him feel productive. But he couldn't. He wouldn't move from his spot, he wouldn't even dare to feel hope least it got crushed once again.

He gave up on pretending and just lay back on the floor, closing his eyes and thinking about very random things that helped distract him, because if he didn't do so he was bound to go crazy with worry at some point.

He thought about the day were he, Sora and Kairi had gone together to the beach a week after they had arrived, as an official welcome back home. It had been a lovely day where they had been surrounded by their friends and loved ones and just had fun.

When they all had food at the restaurant he used to work at and he had to attend their table, thanks to the decision of a mysterious person (a.k.a. his boss). It had been hard, because it had been his first day at the job, but they were all there for moral support so he served their table like a pro- at least that's what he thought.

And that time when Selphie had kissed Tidus square in the mouth in a drunken fit, saying that he was the love of her life and that they just had to marry. He remembered Tidus's face, and the way he had made fun of him without any mercy at all. Riku smiled at that one.

Then his smile slowly vanished as he started reminiscing about the time he'd seen Sora and Kairi kiss in front of him for the first time. Those memories were clear as day inside his mind because he still remembered how he had felt. Oh he was glad that their friends had finally found each other, had finally gotten what they deserved, yet he couldn't help but feel a spark of jealousy at what they still had. Now that he thought about it, he certainly knew that he still felt jealous of them. Why couldn't he get what they had? Why was it that, even after all he went through, he still had to suffer, had to be alone?

He wanted to share in a passionate love like that with someone of his own. He wanted to have blissful moments with her, share in the wonders of the worlds. He wanted someone to hold his hand when he started feeling bad, wanted to hold hers when she felt the same. He wanted someone he could laugh with, cry with, rage with… He wanted it all.

Yet nothing ever came true for him and he doubted that something would.

For who could ever love a broken doll? Who could ever fall for someone like him?

In between his thoughts of his most beloved friends, his wonderful island, the life he started to lead when they closed the door to Kingdom Hearts, and everything else that had popped into his head, appeared Alicia, successfully ruining his sort of relaxed state. He just sighed. Couldn't his mind just shut up for a couple of minutes?

"_RIKU!_"

He sat down so fast that he accidentally hurt his injured wrist. He hissed, breathing deeply and counting to ten. As he felt the pain dissipating he then opened his senses a bit more, trying to figure out if he'd just imagined her voice or if he had actually heard it.

"_Riku, please answer me! Alicia fainted and her heart feels strange, and I just don't know what to do!"_

That was the voice in her head! So it wasn't him imagining things after all! "_But if you're talking to me, that must mean she's okay!"_

"_Riku, you don't understand! I think she's in shock!_"

"_Whoa, hold it right there. I thought you said she just fainted!_"

"_Yes she did, but I just can't feel her around her mind!_"

Riku again took deep breaths to calm himself down. "_Okay, okay, being in shock is better than nothing, right? I mean, she can come back if carefully helped._"

"_I don't know, maybe?_"

"_We'll just have to get out of here to find her help!_"

"_And how do you propose we do that? I can't even feel my toes, so I'll just be a nuisance to you._"

"_And I'm trapped in a cell where some sort of spell is keeping me back._"

He heard her bitterly laugh. "_Some team we make._"

"_Yeah…_"

Then just like that their conversation ended, because right at that moment Alex had arrived from wherever he had been, and he stood right in front of Riku, carrying a half-dead woman between his arms. He just smiled, as if he'd done that on purpose just to show Riku that he was, indeed, powerful, and he was not to be trifled with again. Then he walked out of the room, some of his spawns trailing behind him.

Riku stood up and started doing a chant of his own, repeating the word NO as if it were a lifeline. Alex had just delivered him a message.

He was about to start with the ritual.

"NOOOOOOO!"

In his rage he felt his power stir, felt it move beneath his skin and out of nowhere one of the demons appeared. Riku was about to release his pent up anger on the thing when it just cowered in the corner and stared at him with begging eyes. Riku immediately stopped in his pursuit and just stared at it. What was it doing?

The demon noticed Riku's hesitation and uncurled from his spot, slowly crawling back to where he was. And when it reached his legs, it started purring. Did that mean…?

"Are you mine?!" He asked out loud in fear of being found out by Alex if he did so telepathically.

It just kept on purring and rubbing itself against his leg. Well what do you know! He had won himself a friend. And he was so going to put it to good use. "Can you do me a favor?" The thing nodded, and even if Riku felt disgusted with himself at having to trust one of those things, he was going to go through with it.

He didn't know if the thing knew who he was, but hey, it was worth a shot. "Find King Mickey and bring him here."

The thing left through a portal of its own and vanished, leaving Riku there to contemplate his next move. If Alex wanted war, he was going to give him one. Preferably one where he took what he wanted most away from him.

_**~Chapter End~**_


End file.
